Ranvir Shorey on Halkaa: Not a Swachh Bharat Abhiyan propaganda film, doesn't only talk about open defecation

Mumbai: Actor Ranvir Shorey, who is gearing up for the release of his forthcoming film Halkaa, says his film is not a propaganda for the government's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan initiative.

Ranvir Shorey in a still from Halkaa. YouTube screengrab

Ranvir interacted with the media here during the promotions of Halkaa in Mumbai on 30 August.

Comparisons are being made between Akshay Kumar's Toilet - Ek Prem Katha and Halkaa as both films touch upon the issue of open defecation.

Asked about it, Ranvir said: "I will not say that our film talks about the open defecation issue or it's a Swachh Bharat Abhiyan propaganda film.

"This film deals with innocence of a child because till a certain age, a child roams around without wearing undergarments but after a period, you teach him to wear clothes.

"But at the same time, you are telling him to defecate in the open. So all of that creates a conflict in the mind of a child. Open defecation is the backdrop of the story, but it's not a story of the film. It is primarily the story of a child's innocence."

Halkaa features child actor Tathastu as Pichku and Ranvir and Paoli Dam as his parents.

As far as comparison with Toilet - Ek Prem Kathais concerned, Ranvir said he hasn't watched that film yet.

"But of whatever I know, it's a love story with backdrop of a toilet issue. So, our film is different from it because it deals with child's innocence and how a society creates a conflict against his innocence."

The release of Halkaa is clashing with another of Ranvir's films, Gali Guleiyan. Laila Majnu is also hitting the screens on the same date, 7 September.

Ranvir says he doesn't think about how it will affect the box-office or not.

"I don't think about that because my job is to act in the film and after that, to release and distribute that film is someone else's work.

"It also depends upon the audience as what kind of movie they want to watch in theatres. Therefore, my duty is to do my job and not think about results because it is anyways not in my hands."

Ranvir is also working in Son Chiriya, a story of dacoits. "I am playing one of the dacoits in the film," the actor said of the Nila Madhab Panda directorial.