We Don’t Mind Making Way For Padmavati: Umesh Shukla

Although  Umesh Shukla’s 102 Not Out, a dramedy on the age-old conflict between the oldest man in India and his 75-year old son , has lost its release date to Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavati on December 1, there is no acrimony in the director’s attitude.

“We’re all part  of the same  family,” says Umesh Shukla emotionally, “We don’t need to fight over release dates.I don’t mind making way  for Padmavati. I  was in the loop about the postponement  of Padmavati by two weeks and its imminent clash with  our film with  the Padmavati producers Viacom 18 Motion Pictures who are  our friends and my producers T Series. We could have still come on 1 December. Padmavati and  our film 102 Not Out are  completely different  in every possible way.We could’ve easily come on the same Friday without coming in  one another’s way.”

So what  stopped Umesh and  his producers from adhering to the original December 1 release plan?

“We aren’t ready yet.Because of  the excessive rains this  monsoon and because 102 Not Out is located entirely in  Mumbai, we have been delayed. I  still have eight days of shooting left. I will complete the shooting in October and then  we will decide a new release date,” says Umesh , promising that the new release date won’t be very far from  December 1.

Umesh Shukla feels it is better not to  rush-release. “No one is running away to anywhere. It doesn’t matter when you release a film as long as it is a work worth watching, audiences will see it. That’s my firm belief.”