‘Laalo – Krishna Sada Sahaayate’s run at the box office, was anything but ordinary. The film did not have a big producer, budget or even a big star backing it. Still, it defied all odds to claim the top spot. In an interview with SCREEN, director Ankit Sakhiya opened up about the film said, “When we started to make the project, we didn’t really have any budget in mind. We just knew we wanted to make something.”The film slowly took shape with help from friends and was crowd-funded. Everyone stood together and moved forward with the final budget estimated at around Rs 1.2 crore, including promotions.Rs 120 crore success that shocked everyoneMuch to everyone’s surprise, ‘Laalo’ became a huge hit at the box office. The film earned around Rs 120 crore at the box office. It ran in theatres for 90 days in Gujarati and later released in Hindi. It became the first Gujarati film to cross Rs 100 crore.Compared to other big films, ‘Laalo’ recorded the highest return for its small budget. It quietly became bigger than many big-ticket films this year.No vanity vans, no star tantrumsWhen asked about star culture, the ‘Laalo’ team laughed it off. They clearly said they do not believe in luxury demands. They joked, “Hum aisa kiye toh sabse pehle papa maarenge.” They also said they would rather stay in a dharmshala than ask for vanity vans, saying their focus was only the film.Ankit Sakhiya feared he wouldn’t be able to repay peopleAnkit Sakhiya spoke honestly about fear. He said, “All of my friends had confident in this, but I was scared and the thought: ‘If this film won’t work, how will I ever repay everyone’.”He added, “Its very easy to say Rs 1 crore, but it is a huge amount. I didn’t even have Rs 10 in my pocket at that time and yet the film was made. This was all God’s will.” Even post-production became costly. Songs, sound, and finishing needed from professionals. That is how the budget reached Rs 1.2 crore.Why big films need big budgets tooAnkit also spoke about the importance of budgets and why they should match the story. “If today, I want to make a film like ‘Baahubali’, I won’t be able to achieve that in a budget of Rs 1 crore.” He explained, “It will be wrong to compare that if a film of Rs 1 crore can earn Rs 120 crore, what’s making others spend Rs 1000 crore. The budget is fixed upon the demand of the film. The story demands it.”He added that scripts decide everything and that VFX, scale, and vision decide money.
