Managing director of PVR Inox on Laapataa Ladies: ‘It could’ve done much better, there was some marketing issue’

The managing director of PVR Inox, Ajay Bijli, opened up recently on the reason why Kiran Rao’s Laapataa Ladies didn’t do as much better at the box-office and said that it could be due some marketing issue at Aamir Khan’s production house.

In an interview with Film Companion, Ajay said, “I was sitting with Aamir in Delhi the other day. He was saying Laapataa Ladies could've done much better. But people were sure ki wo abhi aa jayegi. Wo 8 hafte ke baad aayi (people assumed that the film would come on streaming soon. But it came after 8 weeks).”

Comparing it with the massive success of Vikrant Massey’s 12^th Fail last year, Ajay said, “12^th Fail did not fall prey to this. Some other films also didn't. Actually, Aamir is a dear friend so I can say that there was maybe some marketing issue. The way we released the movie, everything we did was exactly the same as 12th Fail. But the communication about streaming really got exacerbated.”

The Vidhu Vinod Chopra directorial turned into a sensation upon its release earning over Rs 75 crore at the box-office. It subsequently released on Disney+ Hotstar. However, Laapataa Ladies merely did a worldwide collection of Rs 27.06 crore.

Laapataa Ladies follows the story of a recently married Deepak Kumar, who goes home with his bride. However, as soon as she pulls the cover off her face, it is revealed that she is not the same girl he had married. Faced with a huge dilemma, Deepak goes to the police station to lodge a complaint about his missing wife. Starring Nitanshi Goel, Pratibha Ranta, Sparsh Shrivastava, Ravi Kishan and Chhaya Kadam in pivotal roles, the film was released in theatres on March 1. It is currently streaming on Netflix.