Anupam Kher's Tanvi- The Great was made on a budget of Rs 50 crore by crowd funding from investors not in the movie business. Kher said that neither the investors nor the actors have asked for money yet
Still from Tanvi- The Great
Anupam Kher’s directorial Tanvi – The Great enjoyed a good run at international film festivals before arriving in Indian theatres. The film was released on July 18 but faced unexpected competition from Mohit Suri’s Saiyaara. The romantic musical, starring Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda, dominated the box office, leaving little to no room for other releases like Tanvi – The Great and Sonakshi Sinha’s Nikita Roy. Kher’s film, which stars debutant Shubhangi Dutt in the lead role, managed to collect just Rs 2 crore in its first five days of release.
Anupam Kher on films' budget
In an interview with Republic following the film’s release, Anupam Kher revealed that the project was crowd-funded. He shared that the financer who had initially agreed to back the film pulled out just weeks before it was scheduled to go on floors. With the film at risk of being delayed, Kher reached out to doctors and businessmen in his circle, seeking financial support. He also stated that he chose not to work with a studio because he wanted to retain full creative control. The film, he said, was made on a budget of Rs 50 crore.
Speaking about the film’s budget and performance, Kher said, “It has not delivered earth-shattering collections or anything. Unfortunately, in the last 10 years, cinema has become so business-oriented that if a film doesn’t do well commercially, we assume it’s not a great film… I’m not speaking defensively. I’m also a part of the business world.”
He continued,“When we made the budget, it came to around Rs 50 crore. There was a gentleman who had agreed to provide 50 percent of the funding, which was a huge amount. Lansdowne was finalised, the Army came on board, everything was lined up. But just a month before the shoot, I was told they couldn’t finance the film.”
Actors not paid
Kher further revealed that four of his prominent cast members including Jackie Shroff, Arvind Swamy, Boman Irani, and Pallavi Joshi, chose not to charge any fees.
“I called up a few friends of mine in the US and India. We now have 10 co-producers on this film. It’s basically crowd-funded. I sent them the synopsis, and none of them have anything to do with films. They’re businessmen, bankers, and doctors. They didn’t have to give me the money—but they said okay. I told them I would return it after the release, but none of them have asked for it.”
“You know what’s more interesting? All four of my main cast members decided not to take money from me until I had it. Arvind Swamy, Jackie Shroff, Pallavi Joshi, and Boman Irani- I went to them and explained the situation. I said, ‘I will pay you,’ and they replied, ‘Did we ask for it?’”
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