After Atrangi Re, Aanand L Rai and Akshay Kumar have come together once again for a family entertainer that is close to their hearts. Raksha Bandhan, which releases today, is a film the two say they couldn’t have made without each other. While in Delhi for promotions, the filmmaker and actor shared more about why they enjoy working together, and the film that focuses on family values and bonding.

“Without Akshay, main Raksha Bandhan bana sakta tha, par aisi nahi bana sakta tha,” says Aanand, adding, “He is a great actor who has maintained versatility in his career, but for Raksha Bandhan I needed a person with heart, who would understand and know the emotions that this film is talking about. As a director, you cannot create emotions in a person, it has to be there. What actually worked for both of us is our background and our middle-class upbringing. We both had a similar upbringing… The way we see families and relationships is very similar. Akshay sir is the best brother I’ve ever met in real life. He has got his own way of expressing his love, emotions, and I have my own, but our thought process is quite similar. As a director, I need to understand the person in an actor and I can say that with confidence, that it would not have been possible to make Raksha Bandhan without this man.”

Akshay adds, “To work with Aanand was very easy for me. He is right when he says we had a similar upbringing. I was telling him, ‘let me take you to a place in Chandni Chowk where I spent my childhood’. It was a very small room with a kitchen and bathroom, and around 24 people would sleep together in that one room. From my parents to aunts, uncles, and cousins – he has shown this kind of family in his films. As an actor, it becomes easy for me to work with a director who understands this space and has seen this kind of life. Also, he knows how to make films that touch your heart. He has always made those mitti ki khushboo-wali filmein.”

Aanand says that with Raksha Bandhan, he attempted to narrate a simple story of love, bonding and family values. “I had to lose all my smartness to make this film. I had to unlearn a lot of things to go back to my roots. After this pandemic, I think we all need to understand that life is not about getting bigger in life, it is about making life bigger. Raksha Bandhan is my answer to myself, that life is not about so many materialistic things around us. It is about people, it is about family. Subconsciously, we all have started taking relationships for granted. Through this film, I wanted to focus on the basic things – the value of time spent with family and time given to relationships.”

Adds Akshay, “The best part about the film is its simplicity. I have been saying this is the best film of my career. I am not someone who cries watching films, but this movie has made me cry so much, and it makes you realise that we all have been going so fast that we have forgotten to invest time in our relationships.”

While the film highlights the issue of dowry, Akshay – who has been a part of films with social messages like Toilet: Ek Prem Katha and Pad Man – says, “The film is not preachy, but it has an important underlying message. If this film could bring a change in the thought process of even 10 families when it comes to dowry, it will be a big thing for us. Dowry is a big issue which we may not realise living in cities. I watched the movie with my son recently, and he asked me, ‘Dad, what is dahej?’ After watching the film, he understood the problem that he hadn’t even known existed. Yeh film jo bhi dekhenge, unko kahin na kahin aisi chot zaroor lagegi ki agar woh soch bhi raha hoga dahej ke baare mein; woh kam se kam paanch baar sochega.”

As revealed in the trailer of the film, the story of Raksha Bandhan is set in Chandni Chowk – the place where Akshay Kumar spent his childhood. “We have shot a few portions of the film in Chandni Chowk. I have my home here, which I visit often. Each time, it brings back a lot of childhood memories,” says Akshay.

About choosing Chandni Chowk as the backdrop to the story, Aanand says, “I wanted a place that is like a mini India, and Chandni Chowk gives you that feeling. That place depicts our country very well. It has a certain simplicity and character, which was required for this story.”

Raksha Bandhan, presented by Zee Studios in association with Alka Hiranandani and Aanand L Rai, is a Colour Yellow production in association with Cape Of Good Films. The film releases today.