Mani Shankar on the failure of Rudraksh as the film completes 22 years, “I changed the way the story unfolded, that was the big mistake”

Filmmaker Mani Shankar’s Rudraksh was an ambitious spiritual-action saga that starred Sanjay Dutt, Suniel Shetty, Bipasha Basu and Isha Koppikar. As the film completed 22 years today, the director looked back at it and what explained what went wrong with it at the box office.

Mani Shankar on the failure of Rudraksh as the film completes 22 years, “I changed the way the story unfolded, that was the big mistake”

Like most of your films, Rudraksh was ahead of its times
Rudraksh was an attempt at punching above my weight and the collective weight of Bollywood, so to speak. With a meagre Rs. 5-crore budget, it was the first of its genre- the modern scriptural historical fantasy we see everywhere today-films with massive budgets making waves and capturing public attention.

It didn’t do well
I take full responsibility for its poor box office collection. As a director, I should have not changed the edit cut after it was fully made. But key people – I won't name – insisted it was too stylish and futuristic and against my own judgement. I changed the way the story unfolded. That was the big mistake. The vision was grand; the budget was minimal. The technique wasn’t affordable. The concept too wasn’t yet in vogue.

How did you think you could pull it off?
But I still felt I could pull it off. I had done 16 December and got accolades for making India’s first hi-tech film. I had learnt skills of compositing and CG. I was confident. Maybe, the idea was futuristic. Fantasy worlds, levitating people, sword fights in the air. Rudraksh may not have worked commercially but its visual fabric caused awe- and inspired a whole new genre of surreal CG based film making in India.

Sanjay Dutt supported you right through
He once told me that a hugely successful film maker said to him that he was inspired to do his blockbuster after watching Rudraksh. True, the idea was advanced and futuristic. Few viscerally understood the idea of a ‘modern Rakshas’ as a genetic mutation of the human genome made possible by a vibrant artefact of Ravan, the great Rakshas of the Ramayan.

The story was simple enough. Bhuria, while doing an excavation in Sri Lanka, discovers the Rudraksh originally worn by Ravan. He worships the Rudraksh of Ravan and it slowly gives him Demonic powers. He gains all sorts of dark abilities. Sanjay Dutt plays a gentle healer, a man who is adept at martial arts, a soulful, physically powerful man filled with peace.

Eventually, the good and evil clash and good conquers evil. In the climax, Bhuria makes several versions of himself and Sanjay realises he cannot kill an enemy who is recreating himself after his death until he figures a way to kill all versions at the same time - ending Bhuria’s evil era.

The failure must have stumped you
After making Rudraksh, I retreated into myself and decided to do what I love most, contemporary action thrillers with a flavour of nationalism. I worked on making Tango Charlie.

So what was Rudraksh?
I feel it marked a grand beginning. It was a precursor, imperfect but soulful, a sincere attempt to redefine Hindi Cinema. Did I fail? At the box office, yes. As a filmmaker? I don’t think so. If I look at myself as a tiny cog in the giant wheel of Indian cinema, I think I helped turn the wheel fruitfully in a different direction. Yes.

More Pages: Rudraksh Box Office Collection , Rudraksh Movie Review

BOLLYWOOD NEWS - LIVE UPDATES

Catch us for latest Bollywood News, New Bollywood Movies update, Box office collection, New Movies Release , Bollywood News Hindi, Entertainment News, Bollywood Live News Today & Upcoming Movies 2026 and stay updated with latest hindi movies only on Bollywood Hungama.