New Delhi, Nov 4 (PTI) “Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat” is the biggest hit of Harshvardhan Rane’s career and has also earned him some of the worst reviews but the actor says negative feedback only motivates him to do better. Directed by Milap Zaveri, the romantic drama released on October 21 and also features Sonam Bajwa alongside Rane. The film, which released alongside “Thamma”, has already crossed the mark of Rs 100 crore at the worldwide box office and continues to attract the audiences to the theatres.
“You give me negative feedback, I’ll give you all the love in my heart because it motivates me to build on it. I have got half a star for the first time… And I have no complaints about it. My heart doesn’t hold anything right now. There is no heaviness. “They (critics) are getting paid for saying what they feel. They are not trying to put us down or put anybody down. It is just a job and part of the job is to give stars. The people who have given this half-star have really appreciated my other films. So, I know they are actually good people who are doing a job,” Rane told PTI in an interview.
The film revolves around Rane, a politician, who falls for a strong-willed superstar, who rebuffs his advances.
Despite the box office numbers, many critics have rated the film to be poor, pointing out how it propagates themes of toxic masculinity and revenge.
According to Rane, there is something very Indian about the movie’s story.
“Yes, there are parts that are dramatic and bold and you might not want to face in real life. But that’s how cinema is. There is always some heightened drama. But there was always this Indian-ness to this. And I love Indian emotions,” he said Rane made his acting debut in 2006 with the television show “Left Right Left” and went on to feature in several projects, including Netflix’s romantic thriller “Haseen Dillruba” and Telugu film “Kavacham”, among others.
But it was the re-release of his 2016 film “Sanam Teri Kasam”, earlier this year, which served as a breakthrough project for the actor.
Although declared a flop at the box office during its original release, “Sanam Teri Kasam” emerged as the highest-grossing re-released film in India, giving Rane a much delayed appreciation from the audience.
Rane said when “Sanam Teri Kasam” became a big hit after its re-release, there were many who called it a “fluke” and it broke his heart.
“But then I thought, you give me half a star, I’ll work harder. You call it tukka (fluke), I’ll work harder,” he added.
The actor said he has finally reached a stage where audiences are organically going to theatres to watch his movies.
“It is delayed gratification… it is the opposite of what we get on social media, where you put a picture and you suddenly get likes… I had put this picture up 20 years ago, and today I am getting the likes. So, it is a 20-year-old social media post in a way. That credit goes to the directors,” Rane said.
The success of “Ek Deewane ki Deewaniyat” is even more special as it was released alongside “Thamma”, the big-budget film from Maddock Films, featuring Ayushmann Khurrana and Rashmika Mandanna in the lead roles.
The actor praised his producers and the director of the film for taking the call to release the movie alongside “Thamma”.
“It was a huge decision to release the film on that date. It was a big call because we were up against a Rs 200 crore film (‘Thamma’) approximately. And it was part of a universe. We are one small little new film. There is no franchise. It was a Rs 25 crore rupee film. So, pitting against a 175 to 200 crore rupee film, it was all their conviction,” he said.
The actor, however, is happy that viewers appreciated both the movies by going to theatres and pointed out that both “Thamma” and “Ek Deewane…” are fronted by “outsiders”.
“On Diwali, you saw two films of two outsiders…’Thamma’ and ours. It means that you (audience) are giving equal love to both. So, it goes to show that the audience has given both the films the same amount of love.” The actor will next appear in a sequel to “Sanam Teri Kasam”. PTI ATR BK RB RB
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