Abhishek Banerjee reacts to Vedaa's underperformance, clashing with 'juggernaut' Stree 2: 'Not everyone can make...'

Actor Abhishek Banerjee had two big releases this month, Stree 2 and Vedaa. While Shraddha Kapoor-starrer proved to be a box office juggernaut, John Abraham's actioner failed to sustain the competition. In a recent interview, Abhishek reacted to the audience's poor reception to Vedaa and admitted that it's a 'bittersweet' feeling for him.

While speaking to News18, Abhishek said that he didn't know how to analyse the dismal performance of Vedaa, because he saw the audience enjoying the film in the cinema hall. "As an actor, it’s a bittersweet experience. Nikkhil Advani has directed a beautiful film. I saw 60 per cent occupancy for Vedaa in metro cities. I don’t know about the rest. I saw people clapping during the climax." 

Why did Vedaa fail at the box office? Abhishek explained, "The problem is that Stree is a juggernaut. Since it is also a sequel, the audience is already in sync with the characters. Nobody imagined Stree to be such a big monster. I knew it would be a monster but not that it would become Godzilla." 

Abhishek explained that a filmmaker who has tasted commercial success can allow green-lighting projects which will be made in smaller budgets. He said that not everyone can make artistic films. "When we talk about the Hindi film industry, it’s a business. I have also worked in Indie cinema. Indie cinema is great for artistic satisfaction but sometimes the market is not open to such films. It becomes difficult to sell those films. Commercial films give you more power to make such films. Not everyone can make a Laapataa Ladies like Aamir Khan or a 12th Fail like Vidhu Vinod Chopra. They can do it because of their commercial success,” he said. 

At last, Abhishek said that Stree 2's success again proved that the audiences are willing to go back to theatres and enjoy movies to the fullest. All they need is an entertaining film. He said that there was a time when people would clap and whistle in theatres. They used to dance and celebrate. The last time he saw that phenomenon was for Shah Rukh Khan's Pathaan and Jawan. "Usse pehle toh bas kahaaniyan hi sunta tha. I used to say that maybe we’re unlucky that we were born in an era when the audience isn’t too excited about films. But I was proven wrong completely," Abhishek said. "They want entertaining stuff. They want good screenplay, good direction, good acting and good songs. Unko utna dedo voh khush hain. Itna complicated nahi hai. Audience ko khush karna bohot aasaan hai. You just have to work hard and think harder," he concluded.  

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