Anubhav Sinha: I’ve seen flops before but I was never in love with any of those films like I am with Anek

The filmmaker of the Ayushmann Khuranna-starrer had previously helmed Shah Rukh Khan’s Ra.One and Cash

(From left) Shah Rukh Khan in Ra One, Anubhav Sinha and Ayushmann Khuranna

Director Anubhav Sinha is not new to box office failures. The Thappad and Mulk director has seen the highs and lows of the film industry, but the dismal run of his latest release Anek at the box office might have stung a lot more than the previous box office disasters such as Shah Rukh Khan’s Ra.One and the ensemble action-thriller Cash.

In a recent interview with ETimes, the filmmaker said that he has been getting contrasting feedback about Anek, since its release on Netflix the past week. While the movie didn’t have a great run at the box office, the director said that it was not anything new for him as he has seen flops before and much worse. But he was “never in love with any of those films”, he said, adding that he was proud and possessive of Ayushmann Khurrana’s Anek as it throws the audience off.

On what could have gone wrong, the filmmaker said that probably the idea to draw parallels with the situation in Kashmir and representing the entire North East as a single State might have made it difficult to comprehend for a lot of viewers.

He also said that the movie isn’t ideal for a casual watch and that also could have turned away a lot of viewers. Kartik Aaryan’s Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 that released around the same time as Anek scored big at the box office while Ayushmann’s action thriller failed to cross even the Rs 100 crore despite being the director and actor’s collaboration after the much-acclaimed Article 15.

Anubhav said those who liked the movie must have been the politically-aware ones. The filmmaker also stressed that he has always maintained that Anek is a film that people will decode the more they watch it. The movie, which has Ayushmann playing an undercover officer, is currently streaming on Netflix.

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