Milan Luthria’s Tadap has started streaming on Disney+ Hotstar from Friday. The film, starring debutant Ahan Shetty and Tara Sutaria, was released in theatres in December. It hauled in a collection of above Rs. 30 crore—a fair figure, all considering, in pandemic times.
“We took a chance and I think it paid off well,” Ahan, son of Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty, says. “Beyond the box-office numbers, I got a bunch of interesting reactions. It was also special to have people like Rohit Shetty and Sanjay Dutt calling up and congratulating me.”
A remake of RX 100, Tadap was criticized for reinforcing misogynistic stereotypes. The film’s central ‘twist’, many felt, flips it into an aggressive revenge fantasy against women. Ahan says that while he respects all opinions, and welcomes criticism, they did not intend to hurt anyone with the movie.
“Our film was based on a true story. Such things do happen in real life. Our intention was never to hurt anyone’s sentiments.” That said, he has taken “everything people have said” and wants to learn from “small or big mistakes”.
Ahan agrees that OTT platforms aren’t a natural habitat for action blockbusters. Still, he’s excited that people who couldn’t go to cinemas can tune in this time. “This being my first film, I want all the appreciation and the criticism to decide how to make my next move,” says Ahan, who has a multi-film contract with Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment. “There are different things in the pipeline,” he shares of his next. “We’ll make an announcement within a month or so.”