Nishad Neelambaran (HINDUSTAN TIMES; August 16, 2020)

For many, a movie with a plot that revolves around a bag full of money might sound too cliché. However, what the makers do with the plot and how they tell a story with it is what makes the difference. And one such film is Lootcase. Directed by debutant Rajesh Krishnan, the film stars Kunal Kemmu and Rasika Dugal in lead roles. The film also features Gajraj Rao, Ranvir Shorey and Vijay Raaz in pivotal roles.

Speaking about his debut film, which recently released on an OTT platform, Krishnan says, “Lootcase has a certain simplicity to it. When you do ad films for 20 years, you learn to be simple rather than complex.” He further adds, “The whole attempt was to keep things as simple as we could and get into a kind of humour which is accessible but, at the same time, intelligent. I’ve grown up watching Malayalam films, and they are shining example of how movies have to be made.”

Lootcase was compared to a Nepalese film Jatra, which released in 2016. So, did this make Krishnan nervous about taking up this project? “We had written the story some time in 2014. If you search for ‘films with bag full of money’, you will find about 40 movies. Somebody getting a bag full of money is a very middle-class thought. It is as clichéd as you can get,” he shares, adding, “Fundamentally, we saw a photo of a rickshaw driver in a newspaper, who had returned a bag to his passenger. We saw the driver’s face, and it was almost like he was sorry to return it without checking what was inside the bag. That is when we started to think about it, and when it was pitched to Kapil Sawant (co-writer), he said, ‘Aisa idea maine suna hai’. I said let’s push and see. You will fail at the max; let’s fail for free.”

Krishnan, who is also the director at Soda Films, is very particular about his cast. Even if it is for an ad shoot, he has managed to work with the right people for a project. He admits that he knew who they wanted to cast for this movie. “The casting team has done a fantastic job here. They actually did the difficult task. I practically had worked with 90% of this crew in some commercial or the other. In advertising world, the look is far more important than performance. There is literally no time for an actor to go out there and express, and that is where the casting team came into play. We did extensive casting except for Gajraj. Back in 2014, we knew we wanted the role of MLA Patil to be played by him,” the director reveals.

Ask him if he would continue to make ad films despite his commercial break, and he says, “Advertising is like Ranji Trophy, where you keep honing your skills. An ad film set is not any different from a feature film set. I would never give up ad films.” 

Riteish Deshmukh on his rap debut with the single, Thank God Bappa...
Upala KBR (DNA; September 1, 2016)


While his look in the video is from Banjo, Riteish assures that there is no agenda behind the video. “Let me clarify that the song has no commercial associations. Neither does it have anything to do with Banjo. It happened just from a discussion on the sets of the film when writer Kapil Sawant told me about his idea. I thought it was interesting. He said he would write it and get back to me and asked would I sing it, if I liked it. I said ‘why not?’ as I can sing, the rhythm is simple and there’s a groove to it. I haven’t sung before but I wasn’t nervous.”

The lyrics are unconventional and talk about how Bappa’s devotees in today’s times have become selfish, greedy and materialistic. “I didn’t have any reservations about the tone of the lyrics as the concept was in sync with my thoughts. It’s been written by Amar Mangrulkar and shot by Manoj Lobo. The whole idea was let go and make a video. It’s more like an initiative — something we all wanted to say and we have said it. It’s a thought pertaining to today’s times and yet the intention was not to disrespect anyone’s faith. So many people have been celebrating Ganpati so nicely for years. It’s not a take on them, but a take on how some sections have started to celebrate this festival just for competition and for their egos.”

Ritiesh adds that they shot the video in five hours flat, “It was a rushed shoot. Genelia has produced the song. We are all so excited about it. My older son and the other kids at home are all dancing to it. We wanted the song to be relevant to the Ganpati festival and that’s why we released this song just five days before the festival.”

Why did he ask his Housefull 3 co-star Akshay Kumar to release the video on social media instead of doing it himself? “Akshay is a very dear friend of mine. I sent the music video across to him and he really liked it. In fact, we spoke for some time about it. When Akshay and I talk we only converse in Marathi. I asked him if he would be interested in launching the song? He said, of course, I will do it for you and he did.”