Director Priyadarshan says the poor box-office performance of his latest film, Haiwaan, starring Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan, may have been disappointing, but it has not left him disillusioned. The thriller, which released on September 11, had an underwhelming theatrical run. “I have seen enough hits and flops in a career of 48 years and 98 films. I still survived, it’s part of the game,” he tells us.
The filmmaker, however, says the setback has only reinforced his belief that Hindi audiences largely associate him with comedy, especially after Hera Pheri (2000). “I have made so many serious films such as Kaalapani (1996), Kanchivaram (2008) and Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea (2021). I have also made political films in the South, and they were huge hits,” he says. Priyadarshan points out that his Hindi filmography, too, began far away from comedy. “I started with Gardish (1993) and Virasat (1997), which were hits, but after Hera Pheri people expect me to make humour-oriented films,” he says. For him, that expectation has now become a practical consideration: “If that’s the demand, why should I experiment with other kinds of films? I will play for the gallery and try meaningful movies in the South.”