 "'Bade Miyan Chote Miyan' producer Vashu Bhagnani on Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff's flop films: 'Shah Rukh Khan's films didn't work for 7 years and...'")
Veteran producer Vashu Bhagnani is all set for the grand release of Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff’s Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. While speaking to Bollywood Hungama, he spoke about the pressure of box-office on his next biggie, bringing South star Prithviraj Sukumaran on board for the antagonist, and working with Ali Abbas Zafar.
Bhagnani spoke about Kumar and Shroff, and said, “It all depends from film to film. And they are both brilliant actors. Koi fark hi nahin padta. And Shah Rukh Khan se bada koi example nahin hai. Bechare ki 5-7 saalon se ek bhi picture nahin chali thi. And look how he bounced back in 2023. All his three films – Pathaan, Jawan and Dunki – were super-duper hits.”
He added, “It’s not the fault of the actors. It’s the timing, how the film has shaped up and whether the film has acceptance – these factors matter more. In the case of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, the title itself is so big. Then, even the actors are big and the same applies to the director. The action is grand and the music is also in sync.”
On working with Prithviraj Sukumaran
I feel God has been with this film. It was not easy to get such casting and mount the film on such a huge scale. By God’s grace, we succeeded. This film also has travelled a lot – Scotland, UK, UAE, Jordan and India. And besides the actors and director, the rest of the team was equally fantastic.
On Ali Abbas Zafar
I didn’t know him that well. He was in touch with my son. When I used to see his earlier works like Gunday (2014), Sultan (2016) and Tiger Zinda Hai (2017), I used to always think that ‘kitna accha director hai yeh’. I never imagined I’d work with him because action is not my forte. But things fell in place and I feel lucky to have someone like him on board for Bade Miyan Chote Miyan.