Hansal Mehta reveals Faraaz was given just 80 shows across India: ‘It was released apologetically’

Director Hansal Mehta analysed the current film distribution landscape, and said that his latest movie, Faraaz, was released in a negligible number of theatres across India.

Hansal Mehta's Faraaz released on February 3 to mostly positive reviews. (Photo: screengra

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Director Hansal Mehta admitted that his recent film Faraaz didn’t make much of an impact at the box office, but revealed that this was because it wasn’t given a proper theatrical release. The filmmaker said that Faraaz, a dramatisation of the 2016 Dhaka terror attack, was released in just 80 theatres across the country, and assigned shows at odd hours.

Hansal is currently promoting his new streaming series Scoop, which will be released on Netflix this week. He told Newslaundry that were it not for OTT platforms, the kind of stories he tells wouldn’t be heard. The filmmaker spent several years in the trenches of Bollywood, garnering acclaim for films such as Aligarh and Shahid, before breaking out in a major way with the SonyLIV series Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story.

Also read | Hansal Mehta says films shouldn’t be judged by box office numbers: ‘Terrible films sometimes make a lot of money’

Asked about the growth of streaming in India, which has been mirrored by a decline in the theatrical marketplace, the filmmaker said, “I think a recalibration is happening. Every industry, not only films, goes through a period of recalibration every decade. The industry will reemerge with a newer understanding of audiences, and what we, as creators, want to give our audiences. There was a gap between the audience and creator, and the formula became jaded…”

He continued, “Ultimately, thank God for OTT, because the stories that, especially somebody like me, tries to tell, finds an audience there. Faraaz, the film that I made some time back, was released almost apologetically. It had shows at midnight, 10:30 pm, in Delhi! Who goes to theatres at that time? And just 80 shows around the country. It didn’t really do anything theatrically, but the moment it dropped on Netflix, it found an audience. It was in the top 10 around the world, it topped the charts in India and Pakistan for three weeks.”

Faraaz marked the first of three Anubhav Sinha productions, along with Bheed and Afwaah, to have received a very limited theatrical release this year. Anubhav also directed Bheed, while Afwaah was helmed by Sudhir Mishra. The film, starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Bhumi Pednekar, opened in just 60 theatres across the country, according to an indianexpress.com report.

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