Actress Taapsee Pannu has expressed her recent disappointment with the production of 2023 film, Dhak Dhak. The movie, featuring Ratna Pathak Shah, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Dia Mirza and Sanjana Sanghi, had an unsuccessful run in cinemas despite a talented cast.
The problems with Dhak Dhak started even before its release. It lacked a comprehensive marketing strategy; its trailer was launched four days prior to October 13th 2023 premieres. Lack of advertisement right from the beginning depicted the trouble that would befall it. Pannu also co-produced Dhak-Dhak but she took a drastic measure-removing all social media posts related to film’s promotion.
In a recent interview with The Indian Express, Taapsee Pannu finally revealed the reason behind her actions. As it turned out, her anger was due to the fact that co-producers abandoned this film after recovering their investment. “That was really heartbreaking,” Pannu said. “I didn’t take up becoming a producer as another career line-I had been acting quite well.”
Pannu underlined that she got into production so that she could back films which she did not have direct interest in as an actress. This vision was represented by Dhaka-Dhaka, one film where she wasn’t featured as an actress however; what she went through left a bad taste in her mouth.
She disclosed some home truths about smaller movies in Bollywood. “If it is not big-budgeted then studios make money back even before releasing at theatres,” opines Taapsee Pannu.
This lack of post-production support has a domino effect on them as well. In turn exhibitors are reluctant to screen such films since they see them as niche and lacking mass appeal hence allocating unfavourable show timings and venues for them. Such treatment reportedly hindered Dhaka-Dhaka’s chances of finding an audience also due to mid-week cuts.
“We started showing the film 4-5 days after the film’s trailer came out,” Pannu said, which clearly accentuates the movie’s uphill struggle she faced from early on. “People began coming to us saying they’d help promote it.” Despite people’s readiness to support it, Pannu felt let down by her co-producers who in her perception lacked commitment towards seeing through the project.
“They instead said, ‘Why bother? It’s already made its money and now it will find its audience’,” Taapsee Pannu recounted expressing her disappointment with them.
Nonetheless amidst frustrations there was a silver lining. The lead actresses including Pannu stood by Dhak Dhak. Furthermore, Dia Mirza demonstrated remarkable group solidarity when she offered her home as a place where cast could be interviewed for promotion purposes. “I’ve not seen so many actors own up to a film like that,” Taapsee Pannu observed about her pride in having such dedicated colleagues.
Dhaka-Dhaka is a story about four common women and their quest for self-discovery as they bike from Delhi to Khardung La.
