EXCLUSIVE: Laalo director Ankit Sakhiya on the film’s enormous success, “Actual Krishna is the audience that made the film this big”; also recounts the miraculous moment during the shoot when a cowherd arrived with cows out of nowhere : Bollywood News

Filmmaker Ankit Sakhiya’s Gujarati movie Laalo – Krishna Sada Sahaayate turned out to be a surprise blockbuster after it released last year during Diwali. Despite a very slow start, the film picked up like anything and ended up earning Rs. 100 crores. The movie is now all set to release in Hindi on Friday January 9. Ahead of the release of the film in those languages, Sakhiya spoke exclusively to Bollywood Hungama about the film’s journey and success.

EXCLUSIVE: Laalo director Ankit Sakhiya on the film’s enormous success, “Actual Krishna is the audience that made the film this big”; also recounts the miraculous moment during the shoot when a cowherd arrived with cows out of nowhereWhen asked to describe the incredible journey of Laalo, the director said, “It is like a miracle in true sense. From very few people watching it to reaching this far. A lot of people ask, ‘What can Krishna do?’ I feel, ‘This is what Krishna can do’. This was one such instance. But the actual Krishna is the audience, who saw the film and made it this big. Those who saw the film told another 50-100 people that you have to see this film compulsorily. The reviews were very positive on social media. This created a sudden boom and it picked up.”

However, the film’s slow start didn’t come as a surprise for Sakhiya. “I knew the film wasn’t going to do well for one week,” he said. “That was clear because it was Diwali time. It’s a Gujarati film, so it was not going to take a bumper opening. But it was important for us to get a good amount of shows. During Diwali it is very important to get shows. Two big Hindi films had released during that period and their campaigning and hype were also high. And our film was low budget. But whoever saw the film, recommended it to others.”

Laalo is about a rickshaw driver named Laalo (Karan Joshi), who gets trapped in a house after he enters it with the intention of robbery. The film then takes a miraculous turn when Lord Krishna (Shruhad Goswami) arrives at the scene.

The basic tale might remind one of OMG! Oh My God and Trapped. Speaking about this aspect, Sakhiya said, “We had seen both the films. When the trailer came out, at that time people might feel that way. But nobody has felt this after watching the film. People have only said it in a positive way that it’s like Oh My God, which means it is a good film. If someone else had made Laalo, we would have also said the same that it’s like Trapped and Oh My God. But we won’t feel that while watching the film. It is a legendary work, so it’s a good thing that it gets compared.”

The house in which the protagonist gets trapped is like a character in itself. Sakhiya wasn’t required to search extensively for that place. “It is the farm of our film’s producer Jay bhai Vyas,” he said. “I had been there a few times before and I had also done a few shoots over there. So, that house was already locked for us. We had visited all the locations before the shoot. We had to make the film with whatever we had.”

The team of Laalo themselves also experienced almost a miracle while shooting. They needed a number of cows to shoot one scene but they couldn’t get any. But something happened out of the blue for them.

“We needed cows for the climax,” said Sakhiya. “Wherever there is Krishna, there have to be cows. We were trying to find cows for long but we were not getting them. But while we were shooting that sequence, a cowherd came with quite a few cows. He allowed us to shoot with his cows. Then he left. I am not saying it was Lord Krishna, who came for us. But the right person came at the right time to help us and then went away. That is Krishna. That man might be staying nearby. But for us, he was Krishna. But we realized this after the shoot how he came at the right moment. If we had thought about it as a miracle, we wouldn’t have been able to work properly.”

Sakhiya gave a modest answer when asked about his expectations from Laalo’s version in other languages. “We just want it to reach as many people as possible,” he said. “Not just in Hindi but also in Tamil and Telugu. We aren’t thinking about how much will it earn. There is no point in having expectations. We hadn’t thought about this even for the original version. Whatever we will get will be bonus. We wish to spread the message of the film. That is the main thing.”

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