EXCLUSIVE: Parivarik ManuRanjan director Varun V Sharma takes full blame for Bunty Aur Babli 2’s failure: “I had Rani Mukerji, Saif Ali Khan, Pankaj Tripathi, yet…”
Writer-director Varun V Sharma is currently enjoying the response to his direct-to-OTT film, Parivarik ManuRanjan, starring Pankaj Tripathi and Aditi Rao Hydari. However, exactly five years ago, he went through a difficult phase. His debut directorial venture, Bunty Aur Babli 2 (2021), was released amid considerable expectations but failed to make a mark at the box office.
Bollywood Hungama exclusively spoke to Varun V Sharma during the promotions of Parivarik ManuRanjan and asked him what he felt went wrong with Bunty Aur Babli 2. Several filmmakers tend to blame external factors like the pandemic, release timing, cricket tournaments, examinations, adverse weather conditions, etc., for the failure of their films. However, Varun stood out with his refreshingly honest admission.
Varun V Sharma said, “Filmmaking, as an art form, is a director’s medium. I firmly believe that the buck stops at the director. I am sure that I didn’t meet the expectations of the audience. That’s why it went wrong. I had such seasoned actors in my film like Rani Mukerji ma’am, Saif Ali Khan sir and Pankaj Tripathi ji, and also young, talented performers like Sharvari and Siddhant Chaturvedi. So, I don’t know. Maybe main hi kahin pe galat raha hounga.”
He continued, “However, I got a lot of learnings and hopefully, people will appreciate my efforts in my second film.”
Was it difficult to bag his second film after Bunty Aur Babli 2 failed at the box office? Varun V Sharma confessed, “Yes. Someone has rightly said that it’s easier to make your first film and harder to make your second film. You are always searching for the right subject. Meanwhile, I kept myself busy by directing ads. I was also working on an action film with Ali Abbas Zafar sir. However, due to budget and casting issues, that didn’t materialize.”
He added, “I guess it worked in our favour as Parivarik ManuRanjan felt more heartfelt. Woh film shayad main ghar chalane ke liye karta. Yeh aatma ki tripti ke liye ki hain!”
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