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Veteran filmmaker Priyadarshan has finally broken his silence regarding the underwhelming box office performance of his recent directorial venture, the neo-noir crime thriller Haiwaan, which featured prominent stars Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan. Released in theaters on September 11, the high-profile project faced a surprisingly weak theatrical run, failing to strike the right chord with moviegoers despite its massive pre-release buzz and star-studded ensemble. Opening up about the setback in a candid media interaction, the veteran director maintained an optimistic perspective, stating that with a sprawling career spanning 48 years and nearly 98 films, he has witnessed countless highs and lows, making hits and flops an inevitable part of the cinematic journey. He noted that while the final numbers were certainly disappointing, the setback has not left him disillusioned or shaken, because survival through decades of industry changes proves that such hurdles are merely temporary phases.
Reflecting deeper on why the thriller struggled to pull crowds in the Hindi belt, the filmmaker pointed out that the setback has heavily reinforced his belief that Hindi audiences largely and rigidly associate him with comedy, particularly following the monumental, cult-status success of his 2000 comedy classic Hera Pheri. He highlighted that despite having crafted critically acclaimed serious dramas and hard-hitting narratives in the past—such as Kaalapani, Kanchivaram, and Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea—alongside massive political blockbusters in the South, public perception in Bollywood remains heavily skewed. He recalled that his early Hindi filmography actually kicked off with intense, successful dramatic projects like Gardish and Virasat, yet the overwhelming wave of his comedy hits completely shifted audience expectations. Consequently, this pigeonholing has now turned into a practical consideration for his future career moves. Addressing whether he will continue stepping out of his comfort zone in Bollywood, the director remarked that if audience demand clearly leans toward humor, there is little reason for him to risk experimenting with different genres in the Hindi industry, adding that he would rather play strictly for the gallery in Bollywood while reserving meaningful, experimental cinema for his work in the South.
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