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Humshakals box office collections: Despite criticism, Sajid Khan has the last laugh

Humshakals Box office collections of Rs 56.35 cr in first week has been good.

The first week box office collections of Humshakals Rs 56.35 crores from domestic collections has been good. Did it match your expectations?

Yes they did, but I was not really bothered about the collections. Prior to Humshakals I would only talk about collections and not consider the likability of the film. My only concern was that I wanted people to enjoy themselves and understand the fun element in the film. The film has done very well in Mumbai, Gujarat and Delhi. I hope it crosses the 100 crore mark, but I don?t think it will because Ek Villain has taken a very good initiative, so the number of screens for Humshakals will automatically go down.

The critics have not been too kind to the film, but the audience have. So, what kind of feedback have you been getting?

I never said that it was a great film but some of my critic friends did not understand the film. I guess that usually happens in a comedy where some people like it and some don?t. There were a lot of positive comments but no one highlighted that.

Good reviews matter when your film does not do well. The reviews mattered when Himmatwala flopped. Humshakals is a hit film, the reviews don?t make much of a difference. When I went to watch the film in the theatres I was very happy to see the families enjoying themselves.

The children have liked the ?pagal? Saif and Riteish and the ladies are enjoying the part where Saif and Riteish became women.

Some of my friends have liked it while others said it was a little too childish. Some said there should have been more adult jokes but my primary target audience is family so I avoid that space.

How did the failure of Himmatwala affect you?

?Himmatwala not being successful was a big triumph for me as a person. You can say I grew up with the film. Before that I had become over confident since all my films were doing well. In fact, till then I had never given myself any credit as a director, but saw myself as a successful director; that was wrong. I was not bothered about making a good film but was interested in making a hit film. Himmatwala?s failure hit me. Sometimes a wound is good for you and in this case my wound (my film not doing well) was like a tattoo. I was a man who was loved , had a good fan following but the saddest part was that I let my fans down. I was told that it was me and not the film that was being reviewed, and I scored zero. Having said that I must mention that as a film, Himmatwala was about the entertainment of the 80s, it was not a bad film, but it was a wrong film!

How did Humshakals come about? And will your next also be a comedy??

While introspecting about Himmatwala, I started writing Humshakals. It was the first time I decided that I wanted to make a good film. I wanted to make myself laugh, and soon the idea started becoming bigger. Initially the story was about two characters (Saif and Riteish) with double roles and soon it featured three main characters with double roles! Something which no one had attempted before. The two actors with double roles became triple, and a month later, the third, Ram Kapoor?s role was also added. The film is basically about the theory that there are seven lookalikes of a person in the world.

My next will also be a comedy starring Saif. It?s not me, it?s the audience that does not want me to do anything else but comedy. And now I enjoy doing it as well. I tried doing something different with Himmatwala but it did not work.

From Housefull to Housefull 2 and now Humshakals why is it that there?s always a sequence in your films with your actors wearing night suits?

I like doing that in all my films. It?s a signature stand. It also attributes to some fun and masti.

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First published on: 05-07-2014 at 13:30 IST
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