Siddharth Anand Breaks Down Fighter's Lukewarm Opening: 'Audience Didn’t Understand...'

Siddharth Anand’s Fighter did not take off the way it was intended to. The film starring Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone had a non-holiday release, hitting the screens on January 25. The film was released exactly a year after Anand released Pathaan with Shah Rukh Khan in the leading role. Unfortunately for the filmmaker, Fighter did not recreate the magic of Pathaan at the box office. Fighter opened to a box office collection of Rs 24.60 cr.

In a new interview, Anand said two factors might have played a role in Fighter’s lukewarm opening. One is that the film was released on a working day and the second being not many might be familiar with the exhilaration associated with flights and jets, and they couldn’t connect with the film.

“Our expectations as makers have become a little unrealistic. I am talking about myself also, having delivered Pathaan just one year ago. We need to keep our expectations in check and align them with the product. Also, it was a working day. Thursday is considered mid-week. For instance, we held a special screening for friends and family on Thursday, and whoever we texted and asked, at least 40% of them asked, ‘Is the show in the evening?’ So, that time, it hit us how will people bunk work or bunk school and come in the morning,” Anand told Galatta Plus.

“Another thing is the genre. Fighter is a huge leap for a filmmaker. It’s a space that is unexplored and absolutely new. It has no reference point for the audience. They are like, ‘What are these planes doing?’” the directed noted before adding, “There is a huge percentage of our country, I would say, 90 per cent, who have not flown in planes, who have not been to an airport, so how would they know what’s happening in the movie? This is my dissection. They felt this is a little alien. They didn’t understand what kind of exhilaration they are supposed to feel in the air action, so there is a certain initial disconnect. But once you enter the theatre, you realise this is such a basic film.”

Fighter is currently playing at the theatres. Besides Hrithik and Deepika, the film also stars Anil Kapoor, Karan Singh Grover, Akshay Oberoi and Sanjeeda Shaikh.