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EXCLUSIVE: Laxmmi Bomb producer Shabinaa Khan on Akshay Kumar being gutsy & taking 5 years to set up the film
Shabinaa, who teams up with Akshay for the third time, is hoping for a hat-trick with the superstar. She shares why his guts and gumption only added to the film, which took her 5 years to put in place.
A few weeks ago, when the Laxmmi Bomb trailer dropped online, the audience went completely gaga over Akshay Kumar's avatar in the horror comedy. Funny and scary in equal measure, he pulled off the notes exceedingly well. But not many know that putting the film together has been a challenge for producer Shabinaa Khan, who reunites with Khiladi Kumar for the third time, after Rowdy Rathore and Gabbar Is Back. We spoke to Shabinaa, who talks about her journey on the film...
People are loving the promos of Laxmmi Bomb. But not many know how difficult it has been for you to put this together...
Laxmmi Bomb has been the toughest journey of my life. It took me 5 years to set it up - it had all kinds of issues, from getting actors to putting it all together to the director issue. During the making, I had to pull down a complete set because of rains. We never expected rains in November last year. Then the final nail in the coffin was Covid. Whatever had to go wrong (laughs) to stop this journey, has happened. Now, only the tail bit is left. But the silver lining was the trailer and the song releasing on digital platforms and I have received the most amount of love for this trailer, in my life. Even the film will live up to the promos; I have to take it three notches up.
Why did you choose to remake Kanchana?
When I watch remakes, it's always for recreating it. When I watched Kanchana, I felt it had an incredible one-liner. I left it at that. There were so many people vying for the rights to the film at that time. From top makers to top actors, everyone wanted to remake it. But luckily, I got it. The moment I went to the director of the original, our journey began.
When I watched Kanchana, I felt it had an incredible one-liner. I left it at that.
Shabinaa Khan
There were several reports that many actors didn't want to do the film, because they were apprehensive of playing a transgender on screen and wearing the sari. Is that true?
More than the sari, when you see the film, you will realise there's so much more. The graph of the character goes up, down every now and then. Akshay is someone in one scene, somebody else in the other. It's a tough role to pull off. The sari is just a costume thing. But complete kudos to Akshay Kumar for carrying it to this level and having the guts to do what nobody could have done. I doubt if anyone could play it to the ultimate like Akshay. Laxmmi Bomb wouldn't have been what it is, if he had not done it. There were just a few challenges. Even before I would approach a person, I could sense they had reservations about it. In fact, on the phone calls only, I would realise that the actor is not interested. Akshay was so gung-ho about the film; there was no need to explain anything to him. He was so excited about it.
Having known Akshay Kumar for so many years, did your friendship with him work in your favour?
Of course, it always helps. We completely know what we are heading for and what our vision is. It's our third film, so we're hoping for a hat-trick. He makes it very comfortable for me as a producer.
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