Saif Ali Khan opens up on ‘Adipurush’ disaster, shares his approach to overcoming failure

Following the tumultuous opening of last year's high-budget mythological epic ‘Adipurush’, its cast and crew remained largely silent amid controversy.

Only writer-lyricist Manoj Muntashir Shukla openly discussed the film's reception, its merits, and the surrounding backlash. Now, months later, actor Saif Ali Khan has briefly acknowledged the film's shortcomings in an interview.

Speaking with Film Companion, Saif Ali Khan emphasized that he doesn't perceive himself as a star capable of launching diverse projects. He referenced his 2019 Western film ‘Laal Kaptaan’, directed by Navdeep Singh, which struggled to surpass the Rs 50 lakh mark on its opening day. Khan humorously remarked, ‘I'm not star enough to pull off anything.’

‘It’s nice to be realistic, and I’ve never actually thought of myself as a star, and I don’t really want to also. I like being a star, but I don’t want to be delusional. My parents are big stars, but very realistic, very normal. There’s so much more in life to be real about, my focus has always been on that… The idea is not to be scared of failing. People say, ‘That was a brave choice…’ You talk about Adipurush, for example. People talk about risks, but if you fall on your face, it’s not a risk really. You have to have a few of those also, and it’s a part of the approach. You have to shrug it off, feel bad, and say, ‘Nice try, but bad luck, let’s go to the next one’,’ Saif said.

Reflecting on the failure of ‘Laal Kaptaan,’ Saif Ali Khan reminisced about his co-star Deepak Dobriyal's remark on set. Dobriyal likened the film's arduous shooting conditions to ‘The Revenant,’ noting the physical challenges they faced while being exposed to the wilderness, entirely subject to nature's whims.

‘Firstly, it was an amazing experience, and so exhausting. And emotionally, we spent a couple of months apart,’ he said, gesturing at his wife, Kareena Kapoor, who was also a part of the interview.

About ‘Adipurush’

Om Raut’s ‘Adipurush’, released in June last year, was an adaptation of the Ramayana. It featured Prabhas and Kriti Sanon in the roles of Raghava and Janaki, while Saif played the antagonist Lankesh. The film was a critical and commercial disaster, failing to recover its reported Rs 600 crore-plus budget.

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