Theatrical release of Anupam Kher’s movie Tanvi the Great coincided with that of Yash Raj Films’ Saiyaara on the same date. Saiyaara, directed by Mohit Suri and featuring newcomers Aneet Padda and Ahaan Panday, became the year’s biggest hit, while Tanvi the Great was “wiped out” in the Saiyaara storm. Anupam acknowledged the failure of his film and explained how it was replaced in theaters by the Mohit Suri film during his recent interaction at the latest edition of Expresso. Anupam stated in a conversation with Anant Goenka, Executive Director of the Indian Express Group, “I dedicated four years to this film—one year for writing and another for music. I was the writer and director of the film. We launched the film on the same day that Yash Raj Films’ Saiyaara was debuting, and it got completely overshadowed. It got me down. It saddened me greatly, not only for my own sake but also for the new actor I had selected from my acting school and the nearly 200 individuals who contributed to the film.”
Anupam disclosed that his film had encountered financial difficulties, compelling him to seek assistance from his friends. “The person who funded the movie fled one month prior to its release. The film is expensive. Thus, I contacted my friends who work as doctors, lawyers, and so on. The money was given to me by them. The world premiere took place at the Cannes Film Festival, where we performed. We traveled to New York, where Robert De Niro watched a film until the intermission and deemed it good. We also presented the film to the President of India.
He continued, “Everything was fine, but the world wanted to see a love story, and rightly so. It had been a while since a young, teenage love story was released, and the system works such that even if your film is in 400 theaters, if another film is performing exceptionally well, they will take yours out. Consequently, it was a failure that caused me great heartache.
He continued, “Everything was fine, but the world wanted to see a love story, and rightly so. It had been a while since a young, teenage love story was released, and the system works such that even if your film is in 400 theaters, if another film is performing exceptionally well, they will take yours out. Consequently, it was a failure that caused me great heartache.
