On Tuesday (August 16), the distributor of the movie ‘Lal Singh Chaddha’ dismissed media reports which claimed that Viacom 18 Studios was seeking compensation for the poor performance of the film in the theatres.
In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Times, CEO (Viacom 18 Studios) Ajit Andhare remarked, “There are no external distributors, it is being distributed by V18Studios, and no money is lost in the first place. The film is still running in theaters both in India & internationally. This is baseless speculation.”
An exhibitor told the paper that producers of big-budget movies are also the distributors of the film. Citing sources, Entertainment Times reported that in the event of a loss, actor Aamir Khan will bear the brunt of it.
“In the last ten years, Aamir Khan has not charged a single rupee as his fee, which also includes his latest, Laal Singh Chaddha’ So if there is even a loss, it only falls on Aamir’s shoulders without affecting any of the other partners. However, all the production cost was borne by both studio and production house,” the source added.
He continued, “Laal Singh Chaddha’ will break-even via all non theatrical earnings itself. Also, one can only discuss the profit and loss of the project at a later stage as it is still running in theatres currently.” So far, the film has earned a total of ₹45.83 crores (which is lower than the Day 1 collection of Thugs of Hindostan).
#LaalSinghChaddha is rejected… #LSC *5-day* total is lower than *Day 1* total of #ThugsOfHindostan [₹ 50.75 cr; #Hindi version], do the math… Thu 11.70 cr [#RakshaBandhan], Fri 7.26 cr, Sat 9 cr, Sun 10 cr, Mon 7.87 cr [#IndependenceDay]. Total: ₹ 45.83 cr. #India biz. pic.twitter.com/b8myhVtaAF
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) August 16, 2022
The Background of the Controversy
Earlier, ‘journalist’ Subhash K Jha had claimed in a report in Bollywood Hungama that Aamir Khan was in a state of shock over the dismal performance of ‘Lal Singh Chaddha.’
“The immediate aftermath of this colossal setback may get monetary compensation for film distributors across the country who have lost heavily on Laal Singh Chaddha. Apparently Aamir, as co-producer, has taken responsibility for the film’s failure and is working at partially compensating the heavy losses incurred by distributors,” the report claimed.
This claim, which is believed to be a part of the Aamir Khan’s PR machinery to whip up sympathy for the actor, was however refuted by Viacom 18 Studios.
The same journalist had earlier promoted ‘Lal Singh Chadhha’ as a movie that is supposedly ‘better’ than the ‘original” Forrest Gump.’
In an article in First Post, Jha wrote, “Without touching the inviolable essence of innocence in the original, the remake outdistances the original, not because Aamir Khan runs faster than Tom Hanks (he does!), but by shifting the focus of the original from universal compassion to a specific love-interest.”
He had claimed, “Laal Singh Chaddha is filmed like a dream. And I don’t mean just the panoramic sweep of Nature’s bounty that cinematographer Satyajit Pande brings to every frame. The film looks exquisite. But it doesn’t stop there. Director Advait Chandan designs every frame to say something that words cannot express.”
The ‘journalist’ had also appealed to those boycotting the film to watch it in the theatres. “They will come away reformed,” he had suggested. Despite the false claims of the naysayers, film critic Taran Adarsh pointed out that calls for the boycott of ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’ movie had been successful.
In a tweet, he remarked, “Stop being in denial about #Boycott calls not affecting film biz… The fact is, these #Boycott calls have made a dent and impacted the Box Office numbers of Laal Singh Chaddha specifically… Face it!.”
