Siddharth Anand reacts to lukewarm response to 'Fighter': '90 per cent people have not flown in planes, how would they know what's happening?'

Siddharth Anand and Hrithik Roshan

Siddharth Anand's directorial 'Fighter' starring Hrithik Roshan and Deepika Padukone hit the theatres on January 25. While the opening weekend saw a good collection for the film at the box office, the film began to see a downward trend from the first Monday. The film was released exactly a year after the release of the blockbuster film Pathaan that starred Shah Rukh Khan. For the unversed, both Fighter and Pathaan have been directed by Anand. Unfortunately for the filmmaker, Fighter did not recreate the magic of Pathaan at the box office.

Now in an interview with Gallata Plus, director Siddharth Anand has shared his thoughts in the lukewarm response to his aerial actioner. "Our expectations as makers have become a little unrealistic. I am talking about myself also, having delivered 'Pathaan' just one year ago. We need to keep our expectations in check and align them with the product. Also, it was a working day. Thursday is considered mid-week. For instance, we held a special screening for friends and family on Thursday, and whoever we texted and asked, at least 40% of them asked, ‘Is the show in the evening?' So, that time, it hit us how will people bunk work or bunk school and come in the morning."

Anand further said that the genre of the film might not have connected with a large number of people. He feels that most people might not have sat on a plane or visited an airport to understand what was happening in the film.

He said, "Another thing is the genre. Fighter is a huge leap for a filmmaker. It's a space that is unexplored and absolutely new. It has no reference point for the audience. They are like, ‘What are these planes doing? There is a huge percentage of our country, I would say, 90 per cent, who have not flown in planes, who have not been to an airport, so how would they know what's happening in the movie? This is my dissection. They felt this is a little alien. They didn't understand what kind of exhilaration they are supposed to feel in the air action, so there is a certain initial disconnect. But once you enter the theatre, you realise this is such a basic film."

Besides Hrithik and Deepika, the film also stars Anil Kapoor, Karan Singh Grover, Akshay Oberoi, and Sanjeeda Shaikh in pivotal roles. The film opened to Rs 24 crore on day 1. On its first Monday, the film collected Rs 7 crore.