21 Years of Aankhen EXCLUSIVE: Director Vipul Shah on the success of his debut film; claims, “Till date, I don’t know its actual box office numbers”

On the 21st anniversary of Aankhen, director Vipul Shah opened up on the making of his debut film including some lesser-known facts about the Amitabh Bachchan starrer.

By Jiya Chulet -

April 5, 2023 - 8:30 PM IST

Vipul Amrutlal Shah’s directorial debut, Aankhen fronted by Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Arjun Rampal, Paresh Rawal, and Sushmita Sen, completed 21 years of its release today. While today the film is a huge success, back then nobody really believed in the story. Yet today, Aankhen is one of the most unique, well-written, and exceptionally directed films.

21 Years of Aankhen EXCLUSIVE: Director Vipul Shah on the success of his debut film; claims, “Till date, I don’t know its actual box office numbers”

In an exclusive conversation with Bollywood Hungama, Vipul Shah opened up about the making of the film and his reaction when he learnt that it became the second highest-grossing film of 2002. Having said that, it is worth mentioning here that it was earlier reported that Vipul was shooting for Namastey London when Aankhen was released. When asked to comment on it, Shah asserted, “I had no idea about the business of the film. I was told that it's a very big success. But till date, I don't know the real (box office) number of the film.”

He further elaborated, “While I was shooting for Namastey London in London, I was told that it was the second-highest or the highest-grossing film of that particular year. And I was like, oh, oh, that's great. But now that's in the history that's in the past because by then Namastey London was my third film. So, the joy of the success of the film was only limited to the perception when the film released. The actual numbers I did not know then. And even now, I don't know.”

As our conversation progressed further, the 55-year-old filmmaker was also asked to speak about the “thing” that he did differently, which ultimately contributed to the success of Aankhen. He explained, “I think that not knowing anything about the film industry was one of the good things at that time. So, I did not know any theories that were popular that your film should have XYZ or ABC elements. I just went ahead and made a film with pure conviction and a gut feeling that this subject well made, cannot go wrong.”

Shah concluded by saying, “That's all I knew. And I did not think of it as a career move or anything. I just wanted to make this story into a film. I guess if we can keep doing that the chances of it turning out better are very bright.”

Also Read: 21 Years of Aankhen Exclusive: Director Vipul Shah reveals Amitabh Bachchan confirmed doing the film without taking the signing amount; says, “He was THE only choice”