Aashiq Banaya Aapne (2005), which was released 20 years ago, on September 2, is remembered not just for its music but also for its box office performance. Bollywood Hungama spoke exclusively with its director Aditya Datt, about these aspects.
20 Years of Aashiq Banaya Aapne EXCLUSIVE: Aditya Datt reveals, “The day the teaser dropped, my producer sold all-India rights and made a MAJOR profit…a lot of producers declined my film simply by looking at me!”
Aditya Datt revealed, “Those days, audio cassettes used to be sold. We used to distribute cassettes. I used to go on my own and give cassettes of Aashiq Banaya Aapne to the rickshaw wallahs! We also went to cinemas across the country in cities like Hyderabad, Indore, Delhi, Gurugram, Mumbai etc. The response was crazy. We were all 20-year-olds. At that point, getting a film released, whether or not it’s well made, was a very big deal. After Aashiq Banaya Aapne, I started figuring out that I need to learn the craft better. To be honest, I am still trying to prove that.”
Aditya Datt continued, “My producer had put in all his money on this film. A lot of producers declined my film simply by looking at me! It was completely justified as they can’t be expected to invest Rs. 4 crores on a 19-year-old kid roaming around with a script. Mr Balabhai Patel was the only gentleman who agreed. I remember when the first teaser came out, the distributors had come to my edit room. The same day, Mr Balabhai managed to sell the rights of all the territories and made a major profit! The overflow he got from T-Series for the music added to the revenues.”
The critics weren’t impressed with Aashiq Banaya Aapne. Aditya Datt said, “Yes and at that point, it was okay for me as at that point, all that mattered was that I shot the film and that it had been released. Anyway, it was not a critic-friendly movie as such. The box office number was gratifying for me. But from my second and third film, I craved for acceptance and for people to appreciate the craft.”
Aditya Datt’s next film Dil Diya Hai (2006) starred Emraan Hashmi, Ashmit Patel and Geeta Basra. This film also had music by Himesh Reshammiya. Sadly, it didn’t work. Aditya’s third film, Good Luck (2008), went completely unnoticed as it clashed with the gigantic blockbuster, Singh Is Kinng (2008).
When asked if Good Luck was affected by Singh Is Kinng wave, Aditya Datt humbly confessed, “I don’t think that those two films were at par (with Aashiq Banaya Aapne). You can’t blame external factors. Either the film works, or you have to accept that you made a bad film. If a film doesn’t do well, there has to be a strong reason for it. It happens that it can be a good film and still might not do well. But then you have to judge it accordingly and understand. I personally feel that a couple of films after Aashiq Banaya Aapne, I was trying to better the craft and failing. But the film where I felt that I finally had a grip of the craft was Table No 21 (2013). While shooting the film, I was much clearer and I understood what was going wrong with my way of directing films.”
Aditya Datt continued, “After Table No 21, I directed Karenjit Kaur – The Untold Story of Sunny Leone (2018), which again did well for me. Then Commando 3 (2019) happened, followed by BadCop (2024) and Crakk (2024).”
More Pages: Aashiq Banaya Aapne Box Office Collection , Aashiq Banaya Aapne Movie Review
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