Shamshera: Ranbir-Vaani, director Karan talk about film's budget, box office and more | Exclusive

Ranbir Kapoor and Vaani Kapoor starrer Shamshera is all set to hit the cinema halls on July 22. Directed by Karan Malhotra, Shamshera is bankrolled by YRF's Aditya Chopra and the film is touted to be made on a massive budget. Reportedly made at a whopping budget of Rs 150 crore, Shamshera is one of the most expensive Hindi films that is expected to win over the audience with its high-octane, adrenaline-pumping action sequences and stellar storyline. It has the big promise of a never-seen-before Ranbir Kapoor, who plays the double role of Balli and Shamshera in the film. Sanjay Dutt plays Ranbir's arch-enemy in this huge casting coup and his showdown with Ranbir will be something to watch out for as they will ferociously go after each other with no mercy.

Recently, we at DNA caught up with the film's leading cast Ranbir Kapoor and Vaani Kapoor and director Karan Malhotra. In a freewheeling chat with us, all three - Ranbir, Vaani and Karan, spoke about the film's humongous budget, how much pressure is put on everyone when the budget of the film is enormous and whether or not box office numbers matter. 

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Sharing his views on whether or not and how much box office numbers matter, Ranbir told DNA, "It's the most important thing. See, box office is not just about numbers and money, it's about how many people (audience) have seen your film. Filmmaking is a very expensive medium and eventually, we make films for an audience. So, when we say box office numbers before there was Rs 100 crore club and Rs 300 crore club and now pan-India films...these are just tags. but, these also give an indication that a large number of people have seen your film."

Talking about the film's budget, Ranbir added, "Coming to the film's budget, on the flip side I feel that the kind of film Karan has made, the vision, the large scale, it has been very controlled as far as the budget is concerned." He further said, "Even I thought that the budget would have been huge but I think Karan did his pre-production with a lot of detail and the kind of production house is and the kind of services they've provided to make this film, it was amazing to see that Shamshera was made on such a budget."

Karan, who seconded Ranbir, added his two cents and said, "Shamshera is an expensive film for sure and because it has so many variables, it could have gone out of hand very easily, especially when you do an action film. Action is something that you can't predict, you plan it for five days, it goes on for ten or fifteen days. But we had a very intense and dedicated crew to achieve what we had to in the number of given days  because each day was costing us a lot."

Karan further said, "Apart from that, I would like to mention my producer Aditya Chopra, because he's a man who is a very aware and a present producer. There's not a single day when he walked up to me and said 'Karan yeh nahi karte, yeh bahut mehenga hai, yeh sasta hai yah yeh too much ho jaega'. He gave me everything I needed for the film. In spite of that, he kept it in check for his own well-being and ours. What happens is when you make a big film, it already has a big budget, but when it goes beyond and out of your control, then the recoveries of the film at the box office also start taking a toll. That is the kind of negative pressure you don't want. You want the healthy pressure."

Vaani also pitched in a shared that box office does matter to her like everyone else. She stated that it's a kind of validation that the audience is accepting your film. However, she added that she also had a different take on it. She said, "Sometimes, I feel like art is being judged and people can be a little unforgiving." She added that "there are a lot of impressionable minds and a lot of people don't take that risk to go and watch a film and make a judgement for themselves. They rely on reviews and critics.  So, what happens is that also affects the box office numbers and a film is harshly judged." 

Vaani mentioned that reviews influence people's minds and a section of people build preconceived notions about a film without giving it a chance. This she said, impacts the box office numbers. "It has both good and bad impact," Vaani said. 

The story of Shamshera is set in the fictitious city of Kaza, where a warrior tribe is imprisoned, enslaved and tortured by a ruthless authoritarian general Shuddh Singh, played by Sanjay Dutt. This is the story of a man who became a slave, a slave who became a leader and then a legend for his tribe. He relentlessly fights for his tribe's freedom and dignity. His name is Shamshera. 

Directed by Karan Malhotra, this action extravaganza has been produced by Aditya Chopra and is set to release in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu on July 22, 2022.