Swatantrya Veer Savarkar producer Anand Pandit talks about the film and his reason for making it
Swatantrya Veer Savarkar, the biopic of political ideologue VD Savarkar, is currently running in theatres. The film, which stars Randeep Hooda in the titular role, opened to positive reviews but lukewarm reaction at the box office. The film’s producer Anand Pandit speaks to DNA about its commercial prospect, charges of it being propaganda, and more.
Despite positive word of mouth, Swatantrya Veer Savarkar has not grown much after its first weekend, earning just over Rs 10 crore in under a week. But Anand Pandit says the commercial viability of the film was never a factor for him. “From my childhood, I read a lot of things about Savarkar ji and I always thought he didn’t get justice. When the project came to me, I immediately said yes to it because it is not part of my entertainment business for me. I wanted to bring out the real side of history and whatever injustice was done to him. It’s not a commercial film for me,” he tells us.
When asked to remark about the irony of a producer downplaying a film’s earnings, he laughs and adds, “This is the first film in my career where my conviction is to make the film and to reach out to people, rather than commerce or box office. I am very clear about it.”
The filmmaker says that when he first came on board the project, many of his well wishers advised him against it. “Almost 90% people said ‘why are you making this film’. But I think I wanted this challenge. My belief was that Savarkar had been dealt an injustice. There have been many books written on them but how many people can they reach to? This film could do that. The impact of a film is very deep,” he tells us.
Given that Swatantrya Veer Savarkar is about a controversial and polarising political figure and is releasing in an election year, there have been charges of it being political propaganda. Anand Pandit has a blunt reply to that. “This is an anti-propaganda film,” he says, adding, “I am personally happy that we made a film on this scale and we have been able – to a certain extent – to get Savarkar ji justice.”
Swatantrya Veer Savarkar, directed by Randeep Hooda, also stars Ankita Lokhande, Amit Sial, and Rajesh Khera. It is currently running in theatres.
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 "Anand Pandit has produced Swatantrya Veer Savarkar")
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