SHOCKING: "Yeh film ANDA Hai" - Suneel Darshan reveals how Andaaz was MOCKED before release by the industry and how Akshay Kumar, Lara Dutta, Priyanka Chopra's dance performance at the film's launch proved everyone WRONG!

Producer-director Suneel Darshan is gearing up for Andaaz 2. Bollywood Hungama exclusively spoke to him about the film and its promotional plans. This is when Suneel went down memory lane and talked about his brilliant marketing plan for Andaaz (2003), starring Akshay Kumar, Lara Dutta and Priyanka Chopra.

 

SHOCKING: "Yeh film ANDA Hai" - Suneel Darshan reveals how Andaaz was MOCKED before release by the industry and how Akshay Kumar, Lara Dutta, Priyanka Chopra's dance performance at the film's launch proved everyone WRONG!

 

Suneel Darshan began by saying, “I was not able to understand how to launch this film. Akshay Kumar was prominent but had not arrived. These two girls were known as Miss World and Miss Universe. Still, they were not conventional like Aishwarya Rai or Sushmita Sen. I was wondering, ‘Kya karoon? How do I make this whole thing ring?’. This is when I came up with an idea. A new hotel had opened up in Mumbai, Hyatt Regency. I booked the place and invited the entire industry and the entire media. My team asked if we would put up a screen (to play the assets). I said that it wouldn’t be required; we would instead have Akshay Kumar, Priyanka Chopra and Lara Dutta dance on stage. It was then up to the media and industry whether to accept them or reject them!

 

Suneel Darshan also revealed a shocking trivia saying, “We were ridiculed by the industry. Andaaz had the word ‘anda’. So, they said ‘Yeh film anda hai’.”

 

He then continued, “Anyway, I requested Amitabh Bachchan to do the honours. Akshay Kumar, Priyanka Chopra and Lara Dutta were petrified. Akshay, meanwhile, was protective about his heroines (smiles)! I insisted that the performance had to happen. They performed on stage on ‘Rabba Ishq Na Hove’ and with the ovation they got, we knew we had been successful!”

 

 

Though Priyanka Chopra shot for Andaaz first, it was The Hero (2003) that was released 1 ½ months before. Suneel Darshan argued that it was Andaaz that properly launched Priyanka. He said, “If The Hero had been Priyanka’s first film, where would her career be? The audience didn’t see her. She was hardly there in it; she had a ‘sidey’ role. Andaaz is where she got noticed. She, Akshay Kumar and Lara Dutta all had equal roles, unlike The Hero which was a Sunny Deol and Preity Zinta movie. Just because Priyanka became big, now everyone wants to take credit for her discovery.”

 

This writer drew parallels with another such situation – Preity Zinta debuted with Dil Se (1998) in a supporting role but became a sensation with her full-fledged role in Soldier (1998), which was released three months later. Suneel Darshan agreed, “Yes, and it was due to Soldier that she got prominence.”

 

Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Andaaz 2 trailer expected to be out around Eid; Suneel Darshan opens up on casting Akshay Kumar in Andaaz to launching Aayush Kumar in sequel and why he chose newcomers again

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