Critics weren't objective about 'Golmaal Returns': Director

Basking in the success of his multi-starrer comic caper "Golmaal Returns" that smashed box-office records despite negative reviews, director Rohit Shetty says critics were not objective in their approach towards the film.

"A couple of critics were very political and personal in their reviews. A few of them were right, but some really wanted to bring the film down but could not. The film's success is a historic proof and I want to tell other directors not to be afraid of critics in future," Shetty told IANS over phone from Mumbai.

"Though I would not like to name him, one of the critics, who was a director earlier, in fact, has a problem with my editor Steven Bernard. He had some technical issues with Bernard while he was editing his film. In order to hamper Bernard's image, he tried to ruin my film too through his review."

"Golmaal Returns", a sequel to the 2006 hit comedy "Golmaal", is about a couple whose married life takes a comical turn when the husband gets stuck for a night on a yacht with a beautiful woman.

The multi-starrer raked in around Rs.2.2 million in the domestic market on its first day of release, breaking the record of blockbuster hits "Om Shanti Om" and "Singh Is Kinng".

The film also collected 40,000 pounds in Britain on the first day itself and has done a total business of around Rs.1 billion till date.

It features a string of stars including Ajay Devgan, Kareena Kapoor, Arshad Warsi, Tusshar Kapoor, Shreyas Talpade, Celina Jaitley, Amrita Arora and Anjana Sukhani.

Shetty is on cloud nine.

"I'm very happy. This happens once in a lifetime that you break so many records. It is a masala film for the masses and we knew from the beginning that we were going to be trashed by critics. We didn't even have a press preview for the film. But we have broken records only when the masses have appreciated the film," said Shetty.

However, making the rib-tickling project was a risky business for the director after his last release "Sunday" received a mixed response.

"'Sunday' was an eye opener for me. The audiences, I guess, were not prepared to like a comic thriller. Everyone who met me said it's not like 'Golmaal'. So I realised I got to make what they like - a masala film," Shetty said.

Asked about the copyright controversy that "Golmaal Returns" is courting against late Rajendra Bhatia's 1973 movie "Aaj Ki Taaza Khabar", Shetty said: "I had sent a few people from my team to take the rights of the play on which the movie is based. But we could not succeed as nobody from the team now exists. Like for 'Golmaal...', we took the copyrights of the play 'Aflatoon' from the early 90s.

"However, the issue is only from the Indian Motion Picture Producers' Association's (IMPPA) side and my producers will take care of it. We didn't know that apart from taking the rights of the play, we'd have to take the rights for a loosely inspired movie too," quipped Shetty.

The director brushed aside reports about actress Anjana Sukhani's alleged comment that she was sidelined in the publicity and marketing campaign of the film.

"Anjana called me herself and clarified that she hasn't said any such thing. So when my actress is saying she hasn't done it, how can I even react to that," he said.

Shetty has also announced the third instalment in the "Golmaal" series.

"'Golmaal 3' was always in mind like a germ. We'll have a completely new story in the third movie. And the script will be written keeping the characters in mind as 'Golmaal' is a character-driven film. I'd also like to bring in Paresh ji (Rawal) in the third movie. But I'll make another film before it," he said.

Last updated on Nov 12^th, 2008 at 08:38 am IST--IANS