Dinesh Vijan on why 'Angrezi Medium' released as planned, despite coronavirus scare

Angrezi Medium is Irrfan Khan's first film in two years which released on March 14, however, amid the coronavirus scare and cinema halls being closed until March 31 in New Delhi, Mumbai and other territories, it had a slow start at the box office. The film made only Rs 4.03 crore on its opening day.

In a new interview, Dinesh Vijan, the film producer, opened up to Mumbai Mirror and explained how it was too late to pull back from release. "We had no option as the film had already opened in the UAE-GCC market on Thursday when the chief minister of Delhi (Arvind Kejriwal) announced the shutdown of theatres later in the day. Had we known three-four days ago that this would happen, we might have had time to rethink the release, but on Thursday, it was too late to pull back," he said. 

When asked what was Irrfan’s reaction to it all, Dinesh said, "I think he’s beyond all this. I spoke to him this morning and he’s happy those who have seen it are appreciating the film."

For the uninformed, Irrfan was diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumour in 2018. He spent almost an entire year in London where he received treatment for his ailment. He returned to India to shoot for the film but had to leave again when his health deteriorated. 

Directed by Homi Adajania, in Angrezi Medium, Irrfan plays a sweetshop owner and single father to a young girl, played by Radhika Madan. The film is a followup to 2017’s hit Hindi Medium.