Dinesh Vijan opens up on Angrezi Medium release amid coronavirus shutdown: It was too late to pull back from theaters

With theatres in parts of the country under lockdown , shootings stalled and promotional events and interviews on hold due to the spread of coronavirus, the television and film industry across India has taken a hit. However, producer Dinesh Vijan’s latest venture _Angrezi Medium_ , was released across India amid the shutdown on 13 March. In an interview to Mumbai Mirror, Vijan has opened up about the decision and why it was too late to pull back from theaters. “We had no option as the film had already opened in the UAE-GCC market on Thursday, when the chief minister of Delhi (Arvind Kejriwal) announced shutdown of theatres later in the day. Had we known three-four days ago that this would happen, we might have had time to rethink the release, but on Thursday, it was too late to pull back,” he said. [caption id=“attachment_6112321” align=“alignnone” width=“1024”]  Dinesh Vijan | File Image[/caption] Angrezi Medium sees return of Irrfan Khan to the silver screen after a gap of two years. The actor was diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumour in 2018 and spent almost an entire year abroad to receive treatment. But with cinema halls shut until 31 March in New Delhi, Mumbai and other territories due to the coronavirus outbreak, the film had a rough start at the box office and made Rs 4.3 crore on opening day. When asked what was Irrfan’s reaction to it all, Vijan said, “I think he’s beyond all this. I spoke to him this morning and he’s happy those who have seen it are appreciating the film.” Angrezi Medium, a slice-of-life comedy features Khan as a doting father and owner of a sweet shop, who bends over backwards to get his young daughter a foreign education. Besides Khan and Madan, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Dimple Kapadia, Pankaj Tripathi, Deepak Dobriyal, Ranvir Shorey, and Kiku Sharda are also part of the cast. Angrezi Medium is directed by Homi Adajania, who has earlier helmed films like Being Cyrus, Cocktail, and Finding Fanny.