Deool Band 2 makers donate profits to support farmers' children after Shah Rukh Khan waived their Rs 42 lakh bill

Deool Band 2 poster and Shah Rukh Khan (Pictures via Instagram)

Shah Rukh Khan's gesture towards Marathi cinema has come to light after filmmaker Pravin Tarde revealed that the superstar helped Deool Band 2 overcome a major financial hurdle before its theatrical release. According to Tarde, Shah Rukh asked his production company, Red Chillies Entertainment, to waive a Digital Cinema Package (DCP) bill of around Rs 42 lakh, allowing the film to reach theatres despite the makers' financial constraints.

When Shah Rukh Khan waived off the bill

Speaking about the situation to Pinkvilla, Tarde said the team had initially budgeted around Rs 12 lakh for the DCP, the digital format required for theatrical screenings. However, the final cost reportedly came to nearly Rs 42 lakh, an amount the makers could not afford. "The bill came to Rs 42 lakh. We didn't have that kind of money, nor did we have any source from where we could arrange it," Tarde recalled.

The filmmaker then approached Red Chillies Entertainment and explained that Deool Band 2 was a Marathi film made on a limited budget. The matter eventually reached Shah Rukh Khan, who reportedly asked about the project and learnt that it came from the team behind Mulshi Pattern, which was later remade in Hindi as Antim.

After learning about the pending DCP payment, Shah Rukh reportedly instructed his team to release the package. "He simply said, ‘Waive off their bill.' He told them, ‘It's a Marathi film. Give them the DCP. We can sort out the payments later. If it's a good film, give them the DCP,'" Tarde said.

Deool Band 2 makers donate profits to farmers' children

Tarde later expressed his gratitude towards the superstar, saying that Shah Rukh supported the film at a time when nobody knew whether it would succeed commercially. The filmmaker said the gesture would always be remembered.

Meanwhile, Deool Band 2 has gone on to become a major Marathi box-office success. The film, written and directed by Tarde, has neared Rs 100 crore club at the box office and emerged as one of the year's biggest regional hits.

Adding another significant dimension to the film's success, the makers have announced that the profits will be used to support the education of children of farmers who died by suicide. Filmmaker Kailas Wani and Tarde announced the initiative in Shirdi, stating that after recovering the film's production expenses, the remaining earnings would be dedicated to the children's education, particularly that of girls. He said, "We donated it to the kids of the farmers who died by suicide. It was donated with the intention that they could resume their education. We started distributing money to kids belonging to drought-hit areas of Maharashtra."

The film's story itself deals with farmer suicides while exploring themes of faith and atheism, making the decision to dedicate its profits to affected families especially significant