Laal Singh Chaddha producers deny reports of distributors asking for compensation: ‘No money is lost’

Aamir Khan’s latest film Laal Singh Chaddha hasn’t worked at the box office as expected. Being Aamir’s first release in four years and backed by a major studio, it was expected to knock it out of the park in terms of ticket sales. But in the four days since its release, the film’s earnings have been rather underwhelming. Recently, reports had even claimed that certain distributors had asked the producers for compensation due to the losses they had reportedly suffered. Now, the production house behind the film has responded to these reports. Also read: Laal Singh Chaddha box office: Aamir Khan’s film fails to beat Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2

Laal Singh Chaddha was released in theatres on Thursday on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan. The film has earned ₹38 crore at the domestic market in its four-day opening weekend, a disappointing figure. In comparison, Kartik Aaryan’s Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2–a much smaller film–earned ₹55 crore in its first three days three months ago. Industry insiders have said that Laal Singh Chaddha may not cross the ₹100-crore barrier in domestic earnings, something all Aamir films have done in the last 15 years. This led to reports that distributors are facing losses and have asked the production house Viacom 18 for compensation.

Reacting to this, Ajit Andhare, CEO of Viacom 18, told ETimes, “There are no external distributors, it’s being distributed by V18Studios, and no money is lost in the first place. The film is still running in theaters both in India and internationally. This is baseless speculation.”

Most of the big production houses and studios in India have their own distribution networks. They handle the distribution directly in major centres and for smaller cities, give the film to sub-distributors on a commission basis. Laal Singh Chaddha has also been released using the same model. The report also quoted an exhibitor as saying, “Most studios don’t sell their territories, it is always distributed directly. Even if we try asking for the rights, it is too expensive for us. And the reports of distributors asking for money in case of Laal Singh Chaddha is baseless as the producers are only distributors of the film.”

Directed by Advait Chandan, Laal Singh Chaddha is the official Hindi remake of Tom Hanks’ Forrest Gump. The film also stars Kareena Kapoor, Mona Singh, and Naga Chaitanya. Laal Singh Chaddha has received mixed reviews from critics, which have called it a faithful adaptation but criticised the acting and screenplay. The film has also faced calls for a boycott from a certain section with trends condemning the film trending on Twitter for weeks prior to the release.