'Laalo' earns more than Rs 100 crore in the form of 'God Trusts': 'Dwarika no Nath' to resonate on OTT after theatres; Find out in Bhaskar interview how much was the deal with Sony?

This proverb has proved to be perfect for the film 'Lalo: Shri Krishna Sada Sahayate', which created history in Gujarati cinema. 'Lalo...' to enter the Rs 100 crore club Now streaming on OTT platforms. The film, which has showered the audience with devotion in cinemas, is also making waves on OTT. At that time, Ankit Sakhia, the director of 'Lalo...', who gave a different identity to Gujarati cinema across the country, and Karan Joshi, who played the role of Lalo in the film, have a special conversation with Divya Bhaskar. 'It's a big deal that the film is releasing on OTT' How do you feel to see 'Lalo: Sri Krishna Sada Sahayate' streaming on Sony LIV platform? Ankit and Karan expressed their excitement as soon as they heard this question. According to Ankit, the release of the film on Sony LIV is a big deal, while Karan said, "We are very excited. Those who could not watch the film will now be able to watch the film sitting at home." 'Now 'Laalo' will be on TV instead of 'Sooryavansham'. Was there a deal with Sony LIV even before the release of the film? Director Ankit Sakhia said that his intention was to run the film in cinemas. "There was no deal beforehand. At first, it was said that it had to be run in cinema halls, so from October to March, the film ran in theaters for about five months. At that time there were talks with many OTT platforms about what to do? I collaborated with Sony LIV because it is a content driven platform. Apart from this, they have given a platform to the film in Gujarati as well as Hindi. It is a big deal that a Gujarati film should come on such a big platform. Because of that, we were able to go to a lot of big reality shows. The main reason for choosing this OTT platform was to promote Gujarati cinema somewhere and to promote Gujarati language in such a way. Now we will also be on TV," Ankit said, clapping his hands and saying, "Now 'Sooryavansham' will be replaced by 'Lalo'." So he was excited for us. So we collaborated with Sony Liv." 'OTT platform has not done any negotiation for Lalo' After earning more than Rs 100, now that the film is coming to major OTT platforms, is the deal figure in seven digits or eight digits? When asked about this, Ankit said, "The number is in crores, it is a big deal. The exact figure cannot be said because now it is not just mine, it has happened to many people. But 'Lalo' has got a lot of respect, it is a great thing that they have given this honor to Gujarati cinema, there has been no negotiation in it. They said, 'Wow, great, deal locked. So that's a big deal." 'Lalo shouldn't be left as a surprise' 'National Exposure' will open new doors for regional films? Responding to this question, Karan Joshi said, "Earlier we thought that the trend of watching regional films in Gujarat is low, not negligible. But the way 'Lalo...' The way the Gujarati audience has picked up the film by reaching out to the people. I just wish that this film doesn't become a wonder. Every year, one or two such films are promoted on the national platform. I wish films weren't made just for subsidies." "I want 7-8 films from Gujarat to be part of the 100 crore club," Karan said. Because we didn't make the film with a business mind. Ankit still knows very little about the business. We just wanted to make a film. Perhaps if you have honesty about your art and craft, if you keep your work at the center, then this will continue to be repeated. It won't be a surprise. Not only did 'Laalo' earn Rs 100 crore, but people should calculate that these 7-8 films of Gujarat have earned Rs 100 crore. The first 'Lalo...' It is. We are very happy that the first is Lalo is our film. But there will be another 5 films that will be part of the 100 crore club and go to such an OTT platform," Ankit said. Our industry is surprising, we have so many stories, filmmakers who have been working on this continuously for years and now the level that Gujarati cinema will go to, all the platforms will have our films." It is because of them that the audience of Gujarat is the first to do so. Millions of salutations to all the Gujaratis that you watched our film, the main thing was that we knew how to take the film to the audience. If it cracks, the audience will like the film once...' In the meantime, Ankit said, "There is a Gujarati audience, it doesn't matter about money. If the film is good, they will definitely watch it." 'We have not left the essence of Junagadh even in Hindi' How does it feel now to see the huge form of 'Lalo'? When asked about this, Karan said, "After the release of the film in Hindi, I got the same response after the release in Gujarati. We had some doubts whether we would get such a response in Hindi, but our strength was that we did not leave the essence of Junagadh. Junagadh was represented. Today, any non-Gujarati, or those living outside Gujarat, or those from Gujarat who have not seen Junagadh, and when they go to Junagadh, the local people will speak the same Hindi as the character of Lalo is speaking in Hindi. Due to this, Hindi speaking people will be able to connect more with it. 'Now people take us seriously' 'Lalo' received 16 nominations at the GIFA (Gujarati Iconic Film Awards), out of which 11 awards have been won by the team. How much has life changed in the five months since the release of the film? Asked about this, Ankit and Karan said together, 'A lot has changed'. Ankit further said, "Shruhad (who plays the role of Krishna in the film) says, 'We used to say the same thing earlier, then no one was listening and now the camera shoots us. So somewhere it's the same. Now, if we speak anywhere or talk to someone, people take us seriously. And that's how it should be. Only then will you feel the desire to do something new and better, let's do something." "We haven't grown up, Gujarati cinema has grown up," Ankit said, adding, "We also look at someone and think, let's do something like this. Let's take cinema here. I remember when the film 'Hellaro' (2019) came out, it won the National Award, our entire team felt that they had won the National Award. We celebrated and danced. The same thing has happened with 'Lalo'. 'Lalo' is not just for our team, it has become a film for the whole of Gujarat, people from all over Gujarat are celebrating. I haven't found a man who said what he said or showed in his behavior that he didn't like it. Everybody says it's my film, I had a lot of fun. It's fun. The industry has grown more than we have grown, Gujarati cinema has grown. Everybody's excited, 'Wow, wow.' 'Mommy's happiness is my real award' Karan, you posed with mom, how did she feel in front of the camera? Hearing this question, Karan's eyes lit up. "It was very hard for my mom. My real reward is that they get paid a little. My mom copies links from Instagram, YouTube and puts the status on WhatsApp. Extremely happy. Happy is a very small word." 'Lalo to be alive' When Karan was asked if he came out of the character of 'Lalo' or was there still a hangover going on? So he said, 'Lalo will be there for the rest of his life now, it has been printed. Yes, there will be other uses, but while hanging over, I would say that this is the respect given by the people. Yes, we will go home and then maybe we won't talk about Lalo. But we have to stay a little bit in 'Lalo'. We don't get the love of the audience and we don't want to come out. Let's talk about upcoming projects when we're alone. But the film has reached a huge audience. Now, as long as another film of our team comes, reaches out to the people and creates such a sensation, 'Lalo' will remain. And yet, 'Laalo' is bound to remain." What do you think of 'Laalo 2' after reaching the pinnacle of success? How many other projects are coming up? In response to this question, Ankit said, "I don't know why we want to make 'Lalo 2'. If the story comes, we will make it hundred percent. There is no story at the moment. Right now, I want to make other films. We made this film because we wanted to make another film, two-three films, now we can make it. So now we're going to make what we wanted to make. But at the moment it is not at the stage that we can make an announcement. But it'll be fun too. It is also Beyond Everything. We'll tell you the right thing at the right time."