Anees Bazmee reveals he was hospitalised for stress after nobody laughed in Welcome test screenings | Exclusive

Anees Bazmee recalls his 2007 cult classic Welcome and how the film was not too well-received in its test screenings.

Anees Bazmee is returning to direction with Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, the horror-comedy releasing this Diwali. The director is known for making some of the most memorable comedies in Hindi cinema, from No Entry and Welcome to Singh Is Kinng. But while they may be called cult, Bazmee says the first reactions to some of them were not positive. In an exclusive chat with HT, the filmmaker talks about the time when he was hospitalised for stress after Welcome's test screenings tanked. (

Akshay Kumar, Anil Kapoor, Nana Patekar, and Feroz Khan in a still from Welcome

Anees Bazmee on Welcome

While talking about positive and negative feedback to work, Bazmee says that many of his now-popular films had bad starts. "Some of the films that I made, I showed them in full to people. And people's reactions were that 'my God, this is such a terrible film'," he says with a laugh.

He gives the example of Welcome, the 2007 comedy starring Akshay Kumar, Anil Kapoor, Nana Patekar, Katrina Kaif, Paresh Rawal, Feroz Khan, and Mallika Sherawat. "When I made Welcome, people had just one complaint - that this isn't comedy," says Bazmee, adding, "I told them this is what I have made and I can't now go and tickle people in the theatre. This is the only kind of comedy I know how to make. I can't put buffoonery, double entendre, and all. They are shortcuts and I don't believe in them. I believe in writing comedy."

But the trial runs of Welcome went on without a single person laughing, Bazmee recalls, "Full trial runs of Welcome had not a single person laughing in the theatre. But when the film was released, people called it cult. Today, after 16-17 years of its release, people still call it relevant and make memes on it. So we must have done something right."

When Anees Bazmee was hospitalised

The filmmaker admits that he was confused for a while when all this was happening though. "A person can be confused and forced to think if they did something wrong. Because in our society, people also say that if the whole world is saying something, consider it the truth. I believe in that and I am open to feedback," he says.

The stress of the negative reactions before release put Bazmee in the hospital. He shares, "I was in a hospital. When a hundred people don't like your film, you get stressed. I make one film at a time and that project becomes my battle. Today, I am at a stage where I can afford to have the one odd bad film, because I have a body of work behind me. At that time, I didn't. On top of that, there were so many people linked to the film, including the financiers. So I was very stressed. On the hospital bed, I reviewed my script, scene-by-scene. At the end of two days, I came to the conclusion that this works. My conviction said this is something very nice."

In the end, Welcome was a sleeper hit, earning over ₹122 crore worldwide and earning rave reviews as well. Today, it is regarded as one of the modern cult films of Hindi cinema.

Anees Bazmee's next, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, is slated to release in theatres on November 1. The horror comedy stars Kartik Aaryan, Vidya Balan, Madhuri Dixit, and Triptii Dimri.