Mumbai, Nov 30 (PTI) The box-office performance of the Emraan Hashmi–starrer “Ground Zero” suffered largely because the Pahalgam attacks left audiences in no mood for films, said director Tejas Deoskar, who nonetheless expressed satisfaction with the response the movie received.
The film featured Hashmi in the lead role as Border Security Force (BSF) officer Narendra Nath Dhar Dubey, who led the operation to hunt down the mastermind behind the 2001 terrorist attacks on Parliament and the Akshardham Temple.
It released three days after the terrorist attack that took place on April 22, in the Baisaran meadow of Pahalgam, leaving 26 people, mostly tourists, dead.
“The mixed response on the box office numbers was because of the Pahalgam attack. I believe our film was received very well, and the response of the people was amazing; we were very happy.
“Unfortunately, the Pahalgam attack happened two days before (the release of the film), so the entire nation was not in the mood to watch any film,” the director told PTI at the recently concluded IFFI (International Film Festival of India) red carpet.
“We were all concerned about what happened over there, how people lost their lives. We were really mourning in that period. So, we do not blame the audience for anything. Yes, it could have been better. But I also take pride in the fact that ‘Ground Zero’ also deals with a subject which was very close to the Pahalgam situation,” he said.
The 42-year-old filmmaker, also known for helming movies such as “Bucket List”, “Chhatriwali” and “Ajinkya”, added, “A lot of people are putting their lives for our safety and ‘Ground Zero’ talks about one of them, Narendra Nath Dhar Dubey. I’m happy IFFI is going to show the film. I hope people will enjoy it, and they will also look at it from a technical lens because a lot of them are from the industry, filmmakers, actors, writers, producers. So, I’m really excited”. He also recalled shooting in Kashmir for “Ground Zero”, noting that the team felt extremely safe while filming there.
“We felt safe because the government made sure that safety was there. While we were shooting, the atmosphere in Jammu and Kashmir was absolutely peaceful, I personally had gone to that site of Pahalgam (attack) when we were doing the script-recee but I never felt that it was not safe or something will happen to us, nothing, never,” Deoskar said.
The film also featured actors Sai Tamhankar and Zoya Hussain in prominent roles. Released on April 25, it is produced by Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani’s Excel Entertainment. PTI KKP ATR MG MG
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