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Indian Express
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indian Express
What you didn't see in Zero Se Restart: Vidhu Vinod Chopra wanted to quit directing 12th Fail on day 2 of shoot
Jaskunwar Kohli's Zero Se Restart, which is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video India, gave several insights into the making of Vidhu Vinod Chopra's 2023 seminal underdog tale 12th Fail. It's a deep dive into how Chopra had to start everything from scratch after going on floors, from the production design to the style of filming. However, there's one aspect that the documentary doesn't capture — how Chopra almost quit directing 12th Fail on the second day of shoot itself. In the latest edition of Creator x Creator on SCREEN, Kohli sat down with Chopra and discussed this episode. 'It was not possible to put this story in the film because it was so dark,' said Kohli. 'I remember the exact words you said: 'Guys, I don't want to put up with this. I just want to go back home to my dogs and sit with them because I'm so sad right now.' That was the only time in my life I've seen you this close to actually breaking down,' he added. Vidhu Vinod Chopra blamed it on the crew of 12th Fail, which was 'so mediocre on that day.' 'This can only happen on a Hindi movie set. That day, I remember clearly, after taking the shot, I went to check the shot on the monitor, there was no sound. So I asked this guy, 'Hey, where's the sound?' He said, 'Nahi sir, ismein sound nahi aata (No sir, there's no sound in the monitor).' Sound nahi aata (There's no sound)? How am I going to direct this film?,'' recalled Chopra. 'Because there are directors that guy must've worked with who don't give a damn about the sound in the shot. They just say, 'Ho gaya, aage chalo (this is done, let's move on).' Then I realized why the hell am I doing it, ya?,' the filmmaker said, adding, 'I was so frustrated that I wanted to quit 12th Fail and come back home. Because how do you make a film without a crew that's not efficient?' Vidhu Vinod Chopra recalled 'fortunately' after his 'gaali-galauch' (cursing) on set that day, everything fell into place the next day. 'You'd said, 'I've come back after listening to a Taylor Swift song,' Kohli made Chopra recall in the conversation. They were referring to Swift's song from her 2017 album Reputation, 'Look What You Made Me Do.' In the song, Swift sings, 'I'm sorry, but the old Taylor can't come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, 'cause she's dead.' Also Read — 'Munna Bhai MBBS made me rich because nobody bought that film': Vidhu Vinod Chopra recalls South distributor rejecting film with 'Bambaiya' language 'You said, 'The old Vinod is dead. From today, I'll just have a happy face.' If someone used to a do a mistake on set, everybody would freeze ki ab padegi (now, we'd get a thrashing). But you'd walk forward and say, 'I'll not scream (zips his mouth). Just don't do it again,'' recalled Kohli.
News18
24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News18
Vidhu Vinod Chopra Says No One In South India Wanted Munna Bhai MBBS: 'Got One Show In Chennai'
Today it's a cult classic, but Munna Bhai MBBS was almost dead on arrival — at least outside of Mumbai. Filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra, the producer behind the 2003 Sanjay Dutt hit, recently opened up about how the film had no takers in South India just days before release. Speaking on the latest episode of Creator x Creator on SCREEN, Chopra recalled, 'Munna Bhai MBBS opened to empty theatres. Munna Bhai MBBS is the movie that made me rich, but that's because nobody bought that film outside of Mumbai." He said a distributor from South India who had agreed to take the film for Rs 11 lakh backed out at the last minute after watching it. 'Those days, they used to take delivery. So he came to take delivery four days before the film's release. When he saw the film, he said, 'Sir, this film won't work even for a day. Nobody outside of Mumbai would get the language of Munna Bhai.'" The film, known for its use of Bambaiya slang, followed a gangster from Mumbai who decides to become a doctor. Despite the local flavour, Chopra said he was surprised at the lack of confidence from distributors. He even offered to return the advance amount already paid. 'The bottom line is I had no distributor for South India. I had friends — Shyam Shroff and Bala Shroff — who had a company. There was a cinema there, and I got just one morning show at 11 am in Chennai. I sold my print there for Rs 5 lakh. My final business from that one centre was in Rs 1 crore plus." He added that it took a few days for audiences to warm up to the film. 'Nobody went to see the film the first day or the second day. But when you do good work, (it'll pay). Which is where I'm anti-marketing. Not anti-marketing, but I don't really care about marketing because people will discover." Chopra drew a parallel with the response to his recent directorial 12th Fail, which also had a slow start but went on to become a long-running success. 'Even 12th Fail started with Rs 10–30 lakh. It ran for seven months in cinemas in today's time! Two months after it released, it was already on an OTT platform like Hotstar, yet people went into cinemas." Chopra, who has also produced hits like Parineeta, 3 Idiots, PK, and Sanju, said it all comes down to following his gut and trusting the story over the sales pitch.
