'Hope the results are different': Ranbir Kapoor quips on Shamshera's comparison with Thugs of Hindostan

When the teaser and the trailer of Shamshera came out, a lot of people recalled the last period drama that Yash Raj Films produced, Thugs of Hindostan. The 2018 film, directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya, features Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Katrina Kaif, and Fatima Sana Shaikh in the lead roles. During a group media interaction, the team of Shamshera, including the director Karan Malhotra and lead actors Ranbir Kapoor and Vaani Kapoor, were quizzed about the comparisons between their film and Thugs of Hindostan.

Karan stated, "I don't think Shamshera is similar to any other film in that sense, whether in spirit or in story. It is an animal of its own. I don't think there is any accurate reference point to what Shamshera eventually became in its complete form. Yes, it is a period film with British, there's a tribe, and a lot of action too. But when you watch the film, it will still feel like today's film. I think the way we have managed to craft it."

The filmmaker further said, "It's like when you watch an American film like Braveheart or Last of the Mohicans, you watch those kinds of films. You used to enjoy them despite their being period films, or being historical or anything. You will still enjoy the crafting. Or do you still enjoy the spectacle of it? I would say that some fall into that category of the experience that, hopefully, we are offering to the audience."

Vaani added, "It's very different from Thugs of Hindostan or any other film because it's a different concept, a different brainchild, it's a different director's vision altogether. I think it'd be very unfair to compare any film with any other film that's been made in the past or is being planned in the future. Having said that, you have a different cast, different thought processes, or different ideologies when it comes to conceiving this concept. I just hope that every film is given its due respect and credit, that's all."

Whereas Ranbir had a quirky response, citing the debacle of Thugs of Hindostan at the box office. He said, "I agree with what they said, but I hope the result is different this time."