Rajesh Krishnan: Director in charge of film, not of promotion

Kunal Kemmu in Lootcase

Disney+Hotstar announced that Kunal Kemmu-starrer Lootcase, one of the seven films that have been picked up by the streaming giant for digital premiere, will drop online on July 31. With this, ad filmmaker-turned-director Rajesh Krishnan's journey with his debut film reaches its culmination point. Ask him why the black comedy - which has been ready for the past two years - took so long to reach the audience, and Krishnan says, "A director makes the film, but he is not in charge of the advertising and promotions. I credit the studio for giving us 100 per cent freedom to make the film we wanted to. I would like to believe that the movie is as important to them as to me. We were shopping for a producer for long; the studio coming on board was a shot in the arm. Kunal had spoken to Vijay Singh [former CEO, Fox Star Studios] and made the film happen."

Rasika Dugal

Fronted by Kemmu and Rasika Dugal, the film has a talented ensemble cast comprising Vijay Raaz, Ranvir Shorey and Gajraj Rao. Surprisingly, the lead actors were not invited to join Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt and Abhishek Bachchan, among others, as they announced the OTT platform's new slate during a virtual press conference last month. Kemmu had then expressed his disappointment on Twitter, noting that Bollywood is not a level-playing field. "This is a homegrown Fox film. Why our film wasn't represented at the virtual press conference is beyond me. They did not even ask us. Kunal and Rasika should have been part of the panel. It was upsetting, but, I don't understand the business of promotions. Kunal, Gajraj, Vijay and Rasika always believe the project is bigger than them. Kunal is the kind of guy who will say, 'This is Rasika's scene, so reduce my dialogues here'. So, I can understand why he was upset," says the director.

Krishnan

Krishnan believes Lootcase will be a departure from the slapstick comedies that the industry churns out. "[As an adman] I knew how to entertain in 30 seconds, but to do it for two hours was not easy."

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