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The filmmaker, who owns Colour Yellow Productions, said connecting with the audience is more important than box office collections. “As a producer, I never count my success by how many things have worked. I count whether I’ve reached the audience well or not. Even if they are not liking it, it will be a lesson for me to understand what next I should do and what kind of changes I should bring. It’s like a relationship between two people, me and my audience,” he added.

In recent years, the industry has gravitated towards action, horror-comedies or franchise films and Rai believes a well-told story will always find acceptance, adding the nature of the industry is cyclical.

Watch Tumbbad trailer here:

“In the next two years, you will get another genre which will do a bigger business. We’ve stopped making those slice-of-life films. We are a little scared, we started looking for a spectacle and we thought that we were only going to watch action but it is not (like) that.” Despite having a slate of franchise films like Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, Tanu Weds Manu, Haseen Dilruba and Tumbbad under his banner, the producer said he isn’t interested in carrying forward these IPs until he has a compelling story in place.

One of Rai’s notable productions, the Sohum Shah-starrer Tumbbad has witnessed a remarkable resurgence, earning around Rs 19 crore since its re-release in theatres on September 13. Shah announced its sequel a day after it screened in cinema halls.

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The horror fantasy, directed by Rahi Anil Barve, was a critical success when it first released in 2018 but performed poorly at the box office. “I had back then told Sohum that ‘Film ko pyaar milna zaroori hota hai, paise hum kamaate rahenge’ (It’s important for a film to receive love, we will keep earning money anyway). But this time when it was re-released the conversion was both ways, a lot of love and money.

“So, you feel nice about it. We were sure that this film was going to stay with us, the audience, and the industry,” the filmmaker said, adding he is elated to see the emergence of a new audience which is more accepting of all kinds of good films.

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Rai said he was initially reluctant to produce Tumbbad and had even advised Shah, who also serves as a producer on the film, to approach a bigger production house that could do justice to the film’s budget and vision.

But, destiny had other plans. As the team approached Rai once again during the production phase, expressing their inability to secure a producer.

“They started shooting, midway they again approached me and said ‘We still haven’t got somebody’. Then I’d love to be part of it, maybe it is my destiny to be part of it. I don’t know how much but I’ll do my best. I’ll give all my love, experience and support,” he added.