Shamshera Director Karan Malhotra Apologises For “Abandoning” Film: “Couldn’t Handle The Hate And Rage”

Four years after the release of Sanju, Ranbir Kapoor made his acting comeback, but Shamshera, a period drama in which he plays a dacoit, failed to make an impact at the box office and received harsh criticism from reviewers. In response to what he called “hate and hatred,” filmmaker Karan Malhotra has apologised for “abandoning” the movie in a recent Instagram post.

This self-indictment was accompanied by statements of faith in Shamshera that were positive. The well-received Agneepath adaptation and 2015 film Brothers are among director Karan Malhotra’s past works. He wrote, “Will face everything together, the good, the bad, and the ugly.”

In his note, addressed to the film itself, Karan Malhotra wrote: “My Dearest Shamshera, you are majestic the way you are. It is important for me to express myself on this platform because here is where all the love, the hate, the celebration and the humiliation exists for you. I want to unimaginably apologise to you for abandoning you for these past few days as I could not handle the hate and rage. My withdrawal was my weakness and there are no excuses for it. But now I am here, standing beside you hand in hand feeling proud and honoured that you are mine. Will face every thing together, the good the bad and the ugly. And a huge shout out to the Shamshera family, the cast and crew of Shamshera. The love, the blessings and the concern that has been showered upon us are the most precious and nobody can take that away from us. #Shamsheraismine #Shamshera.”

Shamshera has received mostly negative reviews, despite acclaim for Ranbir Kapoor’s performance. “Shamshera is a terrible period film and another example of the have-camera-will-shoot school of cinema, noted film critic Saibal Chatterjee for NDTV, adding that “if bilge had a title, it would be Shamshera. Yes, Shamshera is Thugs of Hindostan-level terrible, with Mohenjodaro-level period detail.”

Reviews were reflected in ticket sales. Shamshera joined the ranks of recent Bollywood disappointments like Dhaakad and Samrat Prithviraj with a meagre opening day gross of 10 crore rupees and continued to struggle on successive days.

The next movie starring Ranbir Kapoor will be Brahmastra, which also stars Alia Bhatt, Amitabh Bachchan, Nagarjuna, and Mouni Roy. The film, directed by Ayan Mukerji, is scheduled for release on September 9.

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