Kiran Rao takes responsibility for the box office failure of Laapataa Ladies: ‘We didn’t make hundreds of crores’
Kiran Rao took on the role of director once again after nearly 14 years since her debut film, Dhobi Ghat. Her latest directorial venture, Laapataa Ladies, featured Sparsh Shrivastava, Pratibha Ranta, Nitanshi Goel, and Ravi Kishan in prominent roles. Despite initially being released in theaters, the film later became available for streaming and received overwhelming love from viewers.
However, Laapataa Ladies did not perform well at the box office. Recently, Kiran Rao openly acknowledged the disappointing box office results of her film.
Kiran Rao’s Reflections on Laapataa Ladies’ Box Office Performance
In a conversation with Faye D’Souza, the filmmaker discussed the reception of both Dhobi Ghat and Laapataa Ladies.
She admitted, “In some ways, both these films haven’t fared well at the box office. While Dhobi Ghat did decent business for its time, Laapataa Ladies did not surpass that. It does feel like a failure in terms of box office numbers.”
She further added, “We didn’t reach hundreds of crores or even ₹30, 40, 50 crore in revenue. It can be labeled as a failure, and I do feel responsible for the film not meeting expectations.”
Kiran Rao’s Thoughts on Dhobi Ghat’s Box Office Performance
Kiran recalled the challenges faced during Dhobi Ghat’s release, especially without platforms like OTT for alternative viewing. She believed the film struggled to find a large audience due to its unconventional nature for a theatrical release at that time. Despite this, she did not dwell on a deep sense of failure.
Kiran Rao’s Perspective on “Failure” as a Creative Individual
“I consider failure in a daily sense. Over 10 years, I have worked tirelessly and faced numerous setbacks. The delayed arrival of my second film was a constant source of struggle. Many creative individuals, like myself, experience this sense of failure when things don’t go as planned,” she shared.
Laapataa Ladies is currently streaming on Netflix.
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