EXCLUSIVE: Manushi Chhillar reveals she wants to be directed by THIS director
Recently, in an exclusive interaction with Pinkvilla, Manushi Chhillar spoke about her film Tehran. She will be seen with John Abraham in her second film.
Manushi Chhillar made her debut in 2022 alongside Akshay Kumar. She featured in the historical drama film, Samrat Prithviraj, where she essayed the role of Princess Sanyogita. Though the film didn’t perform well at the box office but her performance was appreciated by the audience. Recently, in an exclusive interaction with Pinkvilla, the gorgeous actress spoke about her upcoming film Tehran. She will be seen sharing the screen space with John Abraham in her second film. During the interview, Manushi spilled the beans on her dreamy wishlist of directors that she wants to work with. She also shared her thoughts on the ongoing debate between OTT vs theatres. Read on.
After making the debut with Akshay Kumar, you are now working with John Abraham in Tehran. How has it been?
I think after the debut when I started shooting for Tehran, it was a very different experience. It was quite exciting. I got to work with a completely different team and the movie and my character were so different. I think it's been a great year for me and a year filled with a lot of new experiences.
In Tehran, you will be seen in a completely different avatar compared to your debut film. Tell us something about your role.
Samrat Prithviraj and Tehran are two completely different worlds, timelines, and characters...in the way they think, the way they look, or what they do, everything is so different. There is actually nothing that is a point of similarity between the two. But there's not much that I can really reveal about my character. All I can say is that this is very new, and I guess since people have seen me as princess Sanyogita and I think this is going to be completely opposite.
Samrat Prithviraj was not able to perform well at the box office, did it disappoint you?
Your first project is always very special to you and Samrat Prithviraj is a very special film to me. Do I wish that it could have performed better at the box office? Yes, of course. But I don't think I carried much disappointment from that because it only made me learn that the outcome of a film is a result of many things. It starts from pre-production and there are so many people who are involved in making a film and at every stage, everyone thinks that they are doing the right thing and it is going to work. But at the end of the day, when you have the end product and it's been edited, it's gone through post-production, there's so much that goes into the making of a film and the final product if the audience doesn't accept, beyond a point, as an individual and for me, who was the junior most person on set, I don't think it's anyone's hands, it's a group effort. The ultimate verdict is obviously the audience. So yes, it would have felt nicer if it would have performed better at the box office.
Why do you think films are not working in theatres? Sometimes, when a film comes up on OTT, people watch and appreciate it.
I think this has been a long debate about why a lot of films have not performed well in the theaters and do you think OTT will take over. I think the good thing that's happened over the lockdown is the fact that it's created another platform, I don't think they're competing platforms, but I think there are different audiences, there is still an audience that enjoys a good film in a theatre and wants to go to the theatre and get that whole experience of watching a film. And then there's an audience that wants to watch a certain kind of film from the comfort of their homes. So I think it's increased. In fact, OTT has actually increased opportunities. There are a lot of different kinds of content that are being made. So that's great. Of course, people have had their own opinion on why things have not worked, or people have said, 'okay, no good films have not been made'. I've also heard this where people have said that 'okay, people are only comfortable at home, why do why would they go to the theatre?' or people have said that 'Oh, you know, because of COVID, everyone was scared of falling sick or catching it, and hence, they didn't want to step out or go to a closed place, like a theatre'. And I think there are many opinions. I don't think one is right or one is wrong. Personally, I feel that if there is a good film, and people who religiously really want to go and watch a film, will go and watch a film in the theatre. In this whole cycle of whatever films, and there were so many films because there's such a backlog, there are so many films that have come out. We also feel a lot of films have not done well, because most of these films were made pre-pandemic and in two years, the way we consume content, and the kinds of things that we like, it's all evolved, with time things evolve. I truly feel that a lot of these films that were supposed to be released say, one year ago, two years ago, etc, would have performed differently, obviously, because, at that time, we were used to looking at things very differently. I think that has played a big role, apart from everything else that I mentioned earlier. And like I said, the good thing is that with OTT, there is more opportunity, not only for actors but also for directors, independent producers, and technicians, there is more work that's happening and OTT is also catering to a very niche audience, who will probably not go to the theatre but will enjoy a certain kind of movie. So I think that's something which is good that has happened. But again, I think the major factor of this was that for two years, there was nothing that was happening. For a while we couldn't even shoot of course eventually shoots did start and work started happening but theatres were completely shut. So I think a lot of the content felt very dated as well. And I think if it's a good movie, and that's something which I can give an example of a film like Kantara, I think it was a great film. I really enjoyed it. I think if it's a good movie, it will pull audiences to the theatre.
Do you have a wishlist of actors and directors? Who do you want to work with next?
Of course, we all have a list of people that we want to work with. I don't think that I have a list of actors. Whenever I watch a film and I really like it, the film is a director's medium, I do add the director's name to my wish list. I think one of the directors is someone that I will not name but I am working with him which I am really excited and happy about in one of the projects that I am doing soon. So yes, mostly my wishlist is of directors. I would want to be directed by Rajamouli sir, which might sound very cliche but I absolutely loved RRR.
What's next after Tehran?
There are exciting things coming up after Tehran which are going to be a part of 2023. I am absolutely excited about them and I am preparing right now. I think I will be able to talk about these projects once they are officially announced.
ALSO READ: Manushi Chhillar in Mandira Wirk's tiered dress brings back summer with her chic game