Tushar Hiranandani’s directorial Srikanth (2024), starring Rajkummar Rao, was a sleeper hit and also critically acclaimed. And now, it’s also a National Award-winning film. At the 72nd National Film Awards, it won the Best Hindi Feature Film award. Last week, on September 22, Tushar went to Ekta Nagar to receive the National Award at the hands of the President of India, Droupadi Murmu. In an exclusive interview with Bollywood Hungama, Tushar Hiranandani spoke about the National Award win, Srikanth’s box office performance and a lot more.
How was the experience of attending the National Award ceremony?
It was great. It was held in Ekta Nagar for the first time and hence the experience this time was very different. The entire ceremony was very well handled. My wife (Nidhi Parmar Hiranandani) managed to get a good seat (smiles).
Srikanth collected more than Rs. 50 crores at the box office, which surprised many in the trade and industry. Pre-release, how much did you expect this film to collect?
I would want every film of mine to collect Rs. 100 crores! But there’s a reality to filmmaking as well. Regardless of how much a film does, people should come out saying, ‘Film acchi thi’. Both my films, Srikanth as well as Saand Ki Aankh (2019), opened quite low but eventually did well; that’s the perception among people. In fact, a lot of people regularly tell me, ‘It deserved to do more’
Saand Ki Aankh, unfortunately, was released on Diwali. It was the producers’ decision and, in our opinion, it was wrong. We should not have clashed with bigger films. It opened at Rs. 20 lakhs and went on to do Rs. 25 crores. Had we released on some other day, both the opening and lifetime would have been better. However, that’s not in my hands. What is in my hands is to make the film in the best possible way, and that’s what I’ll continue to do.
Coming back to Srikanth, the box office performance of 12th Fail (2023) gave us a lot of confidence. Those were the post-Covid days when mostly big films like Pathaan (2023) and Jawan (2023) were working. 12th Fail was among the first smaller films to break through and become a success at the box office.
What changes for you from here on?
Nothing changes! I want to make the same kind of films but up the scale a bit. My wife and I own this company, Chalk N Cheese Films. We have produced three films until now (Saand Ki Aankh, Srikanth and the 2025 Marathi entertainer, Ata Thambaycha Naay). Our idea is that people should not watch our film and say, ‘Kya kharaab picture banaya’. We consciously make films that inspire. This aspect will also be visible in our commercial films as well. Hamari films bina sar pair ke nahin hogi.
Your films are often made at a reasonable cost. How do you ensure it happens?
I feel that time wasted on a set is money wasted. I have worked as an assistant before, while my father was a producer, and I have always felt that there’s probably no other industry in the world like ours, jahaan producer ko kutta bolte hain. Even the spot boy says it! Even if the producer pays well, there’s very little value given to him. It’s a thankless job.
People don’t value time, and I hate wasting time on set in unnecessary discussions. Say the shift is from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm. People arrive at 9:00 am, have breakfast and then begin shooting. By the time you actually start, it’s 10:30 or 11:00 am. Then, after an hour or so, there’s a lunch break. I can’t work like that.
Hence, I tell my production team and everyone who works with me, ‘Breakfast will start at 7:00 am. Please come for it if you want; I’ll serve you the best breakfast! But at 8:45 am, my first shot will be taken’. This is my first condition for everyone. If they are not okay with it, I tell them not to work with me. After all, the producer is paying for a 9-to-9 shift, so we need to shoot during those hours. I don’t leave the set during the shift. I hardly take a lunch break and usually eat on the set. That discipline rubs off on everyone else as well.
When we began pre-production on Srikanth, it was supposed to be a 65-day shoot. But times were difficult as Covid had just ended, and the budget and the entire plan had to be reworked. We then decided that we would finish the film in 55 days. In the end, I shot it in just 42 days! I believe such restrictions can actually help you make a better film.
For example, Srikanth was initially supposed to be shot in the USA. But because of Covid restrictions, visas were not being issued. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise because we ended up shooting those portions in South Africa. There, I found a college that looked very similar to MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). In fact, many people didn’t even realize that it wasn’t the actual MIT.
The only thing we had to do was ship a yellow cab from the USA to Cape Town. That’s why the first shot in the America portion features the taxi. The moment people see that yellow cab, which is so iconic and synonymous with New York, they automatically believe that the character is actually in America!
More Pages: Srikanth Box Office Collection , Srikanth Movie Review
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