'We were surprised': Aanand L Rai on 'Raksha Bandhan's failure
Acclaimed filmmaker Aanand L. Rai recently opened up about the underperformance of his 2022 film Raksha Bandhan, starring Akshay Kumar. In an interview with Bollywood Hungama, he expressed surprise at the film's failure to resonate with a wider audience. "Honestly, I was also surprised that it didn't go well with the mass audience," he said. The director admitted to targeting a specific audience for this film, a strategy he now regrets and vows not to repeat.
'The audience got a feeling that the narrative was rushed'
Raksha Bandhan, a film about a brother and his four sisters (Sadia Khateeb, Sahejmeen Kaur, Smrithi Srikanth, and Deepika Khanna), was also panned for its short runtime of just one hour and 50 minutes. Many felt the film was heavily edited and could have had a better impact without those cuts. Rai admitted to this, saying: "Yes. The audience got a feeling that the narrative was rushed...We always thought that audience doesn't have patience...But then again, it's a lesson."
Rai hinted at a possible extended version for OTT platforms
When asked if they would consider releasing an extended version of Raksha Bandhan on OTT platforms, like the Snyder Cut of Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice (2016), Rai was all for it. He said, "Not a bad idea!" However, there has been no official confirmation or plans yet. Currently, the film is available to stream on the OTT platform ZEE5.
Rai's success with 'Phir Aayi Haseen Dillruba' on Netflix
Along with Raksha Bandhan, Rai also spoke about how happy he was with the success of his other project, Phir Aayi Haseen Dillruba, which dropped on Netflix in August 2024. Asked what works for this series, he said: "The day I heard Haseen Dillruba's script, I was very sure that it'll have a very definite audience." He credited its success to the familiarity and appeal of Hindi pulp fiction among Indian audiences.
Rai's vision for future projects and theatrical releases
Rai, who is gearing up for his next directorial Tere Ishk Mein, said he wants to keep making films for theaters through his production house, Colour Yellow Productions Pvt Ltd. He feels too much emphasis on OTT could change their creative vision. When asked about a restricted theatrical release for Haseen Dillruba 3, he said: "I don't know if Netflix or any OTT platform takes a call in this regard."
