Showing posts with label Love In Vietnam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Love In Vietnam. Show all posts
People cried during Love In Vietnam's Korean premiere. They were all so emotional-Rahhat Shah Kazmi
9:14 AM
Letty Mariam Abraham (MID-DAY; December 16, 2025)
On his trip to Vietnam for a film festival in collaboration with the Indian government, writer and director Rahhat Shah Kazmi fell in love with the country; an idea to base his next film there slowly took root. It was festival organiser Captain Rahul Bali — now one of his co-producers — who lent him support. Love In Vietnam, starring Shantanu Maheshwari, Avneet Kaur, Kha Ngân, and Farida Jalal, among others, eventually came through after considerable effort.
However, the film, which released in India in September, did not get enough room to spread its wings. “This is the first ever India-Vietnam collaboration,” he beams.
“But the Indian release clashed with 40 other films — including Demon Slayer and Mirai — floods, and limited screens. We did not get shows in our own country. Everyone was disheartened. All our efforts felt like they were in vain.”
The tide turned when South Korea embraced the film. Singer Seaya released a song inspired by the film after watching it, and the filmmaker was recently honoured with Best Asian Film and Best Director of Asia gong for Love In Vietnam at the Seoul Global Movie Awards 2025.
“We wondered if the people would like the movie or if they will get up and leave mid-way because they couldn’t connect with the story and the songs in the film. But, people cried during the première. They were all so emotional. They started posting on their social media. It was a dreamlike experience. Now the film is opening in Korean theatres in the first week of January,” he smiles.
Kazmi remains hopeful about an Indian re-release someday. He says that talks with OTT platforms are ongoing and that a date will soon be locked.
“Our desire to show the film to our people is not fulfilled. People haven’t seen it. So, we’ll try again. Around February, we are hoping to get a licence for China. We will lock the OTT plan after it releases in China.”
Shantanu Maheshwari on ‘Love In Vietnam’
Being a part of ‘Love In Vietnam’ has been a special experience. Working in a new culture with language differences automatically makes you more aware and present as an actor. You discover your own language to communicate with people. While the audience may be new, I realised that emotions don’t really change. Stories about love, conflict, and hope connect the same way, and that’s the beauty of storytelling. This film reminded me that a good love story can travel beyond languages and boundaries.
Koreans have a different level of fascination with Indian films-Shantanu Maheshwari
4:03 PM
Akash Bhatnagar (HINDUSTAN TIMES; December 25, 2025)
Actor Shantanu Maheshwari’s recent visit to Seoul turned out to be far more than just a work trip. The actor travelled to South Korea for the screening of his Indo-Vietnamese film Love In Vietnam, and returned with a deep appreciation for Korean culture and its connection with India.
“I felt very welcomed. People in Seoul truly touched my soul,” says Shantanu, adding that he was pleasantly surprised by their interest in Indian cinema: “They have a different level of fascination with Indian films, which I was unaware of. They also love Indian music. I met many influencers there, and the music they were listening to was actually remixes of Indian songs.”
The actor also found Korea’s influencer ecosystem particularly impressive. “They have a very organized influencer culture and even a dedicated association for it. There’s a lot of warmth within the community,” he shares. One of his most memorable interactions was with the K-pop girl group X:IN, which includes India’s first K-pop artiste, Aria.
Recalling his meeting with her, the 34-year-old says, “When Aria got selected, I wanted to reach out to congratulate her, since it’s a big deal to make it in a foreign land. I finally got to meet her in Korea and told her how proud I was of her achievement. She in turn told me that she’s seen me in Dil Dosti Dance.”
Talking about cultural differences between Korea and India, Shantanu says, “Korean people are more shy. Their fashion sense is also quite monochrome, whereas in India, we have a lot of vibrancy when it comes to colours.”
Although Love In Vietnam received recognition in Korea, it failed to make an impact in India. Addressing this, Shantanu says, “Of course, it hurts when a film doesn’t work in your own country while being appreciated internationally, but every film has its own destiny. It’s not something in my hands. If we don’t get screens, I can’t do anything about it. I know my choices aren’t wrong, and nobody criticized my work in the film, so I focus on that.”
Having worked on an Indo-Vietnamese project, is a Korean collaboration next? “Many local directors who came to see our film approached me and said that if they ever need an Indian character, they would call me. Language will be a barrier, but I would still want to explore because I love working with different cultures. I’d love to explore not just Korea, but other film industries as well,” he says.
Fenil's Bollywood Talk # 899
9:19 AM
JAPANESE ANIME FILM TO DOMINATE BOX OFFICE THIS WEEK; OPEN IN DOUBLE DIGITS
The Japanese anime films have always had a passionate but minuscule number of fans in India. A few of the films have opened in the range of Rs. 1-2 crores, which was quite good, considering the niche appeal. But all beliefs have been changed in the last few days with Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle.
This film, believe it or not, has sold more than 1 lakh tickets in the national chains on the first day and the number keeps growing as the release date nears. The demand was so huge that exhibitors decided to play shows at 5:00 am, a first for a Japanese film in India. Even that wasn’t enough to cope with the demand. As a result, the theatres are now playing round-the-clock shows, with the first show starting at midnight.
The advance booking is possibly the highest this year, and might surpass films like Chhaava, The Conjuring: Last Rites and Saiyaara, among others. As of now, it’ll open around Rs. 14-15 crores, but the number can go higher.
There is an audience that’s dying to see the film but there’s also a section of the audience who’s still not interested, as they haven’t possibly followed the series or are not into anime at all. Hence, the next few days will be huge for the film, but at some point, it’ll face a drop. Whether it happens on weekdays or next week remains to be seen. Nevertheless, with such an opening, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle is all set to be one of the highest-grossing films of the year in the country.
The other significant release of the week is Mirai. It is a Telugu film starring Teja Sajja of Hanuman fame and is backed by People Media Factory, producers of Jaat and the upcoming Pan-India flick, The Raja Saab. In Hindi, the film is presented by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions. In Telugu, it seems like it’ll open on a healthy note. But in Hindi, excitement is negligible. The opening will be weak, and it’ll need a strong word of mouth to make a big jump on Saturday.
Meanwhile, several small Hindi films will be up for release tomorrow like Ek Chatur Naar, Heer Express, Love In Vietnam, Mannu Kya Karegga and Jugnuma. Ek Chatur Naar has some chances, but the rest of the films will face a tough time getting an audience.
The Japanese anime films have always had a passionate but minuscule number of fans in India. A few of the films have opened in the range of Rs. 1-2 crores, which was quite good, considering the niche appeal. But all beliefs have been changed in the last few days with Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle.
This film, believe it or not, has sold more than 1 lakh tickets in the national chains on the first day and the number keeps growing as the release date nears. The demand was so huge that exhibitors decided to play shows at 5:00 am, a first for a Japanese film in India. Even that wasn’t enough to cope with the demand. As a result, the theatres are now playing round-the-clock shows, with the first show starting at midnight.
The advance booking is possibly the highest this year, and might surpass films like Chhaava, The Conjuring: Last Rites and Saiyaara, among others. As of now, it’ll open around Rs. 14-15 crores, but the number can go higher.
There is an audience that’s dying to see the film but there’s also a section of the audience who’s still not interested, as they haven’t possibly followed the series or are not into anime at all. Hence, the next few days will be huge for the film, but at some point, it’ll face a drop. Whether it happens on weekdays or next week remains to be seen. Nevertheless, with such an opening, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle is all set to be one of the highest-grossing films of the year in the country.
The other significant release of the week is Mirai. It is a Telugu film starring Teja Sajja of Hanuman fame and is backed by People Media Factory, producers of Jaat and the upcoming Pan-India flick, The Raja Saab. In Hindi, the film is presented by Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions. In Telugu, it seems like it’ll open on a healthy note. But in Hindi, excitement is negligible. The opening will be weak, and it’ll need a strong word of mouth to make a big jump on Saturday.
Meanwhile, several small Hindi films will be up for release tomorrow like Ek Chatur Naar, Heer Express, Love In Vietnam, Mannu Kya Karegga and Jugnuma. Ek Chatur Naar has some chances, but the rest of the films will face a tough time getting an audience.
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