Never expected Tikli and Laxmi Bomb to perform so well: Aditya Kripalani

Filmmaker Aditya Kripalani recently won the Ray Of Hope award for his upcoming film named Not Today. The movie deals with suicide prevention and will be his fourth film after Tikli and Laxmi Bomb, Totta Pataaka Item Maal and Devi Aur Hero.

Aditya’s debut film Tikli And Laxmi Bomb, which was released on Netflix before the streaming giant blew up, is definitely his most memorable work on OTT till date. He, however, did not expect the movie to work so well.

The filmmaker revealed the same and much more during an exclusive interview with OTTplay.

Excerpts:

Tikli And Laxmi Bomb blew up on OTT. Did you expect the response?

We did not expect the film to do this well on an OTT platform. At that point, 4 years ago, Netflix had just come into India and was growing. When we came onto Netflix we did not realise what great bit of luck it was to get onto an international platform. Not only was our film viewed in India but also all over the world. That was a big thing for us because till then we were not used to what we so easily now call an International release.

Your film Not Today won an award recently. What was your reaction to that?

We were really excited because for me Not Today is our most powerful film and our most important film in terms of relevance to the world right now. When we made it, there was no pandemic. It is a film about suicide prevention and as we know there are many more cases of suicide happening because life is so difficult and different suddenly, with no real easing up in the future, at least in terms of what we can see. Also, this award is called the Ray Of Hope Award which is a very nice thing. And this year the theme of the festival was ‘Ray Of Hope’, which is why a film like Raaghir starring Tillotama and Adil Hussain did really well.

What was the response of people who had seen the film?

The reaction of people has been great. I think this has been our most unanimously loved film till now. And I feel that is also because it embraces both genders almost equally. And talks from both the gender's eyes and points of views. From industry people we have had so much love it’s been heartwarming.

A film about suicide prevention deserves to be on OTT asap. So when do you plan to release it and where?

We hope to release the film a little later this year. I can't comment on the platform because most platforms are very iffy about saying anything till they announce a release date.

You have made films for OTT so far. Do you plan to continue the same?

I have no plans to specifically direct films for the OTT or theatres. This year I was offered a big show but I wasn't able to get onto it because I am in Singapore and I was kind of stuck because of the pandemic. I just intend on making films that I feel very strongly about. I’m excited by stories. The form is also very exciting. So I’m open to any format: theatrical, OTT film or series.

What other projects do you have at hand?

I am working on this film called Father Like which we are supposed to shoot with Geetika Vidya Ohlyan and Priya Bapat in Singapore. After that, I have this other film that I want to make, which I hope to make later this year in London.