Aanand L Rai on failure of Akshay Kumar’s Raksha Bandhan: ‘I totally faltered there’

Aanand L Rai took full responsibility, describing Akshay Kumar's Raksha Bandhan as a miscalculation shaped by misplaced expectations.

Filmmaker Aanand L Rai is looking back at the failure of Akshay Kumar–starrer Raksha Bandhan, acknowledging that he misjudged his audience. He shared that the film didn’t land the way he was looking at it.

Akshay Kumar's Raksha Bandhan released in August in 2022.

Aanand L Rai on Raksha Bandhan

During an interview with Galatta Plus, Aanand L Rai spoke about his film Raksha Bandhan, which featured Akshay Kumar in the lead role.

“I totally faltered there. This is for the first time in my entire journey of filmmaking I decided that this is the kind of story needed by a certain section of the audience where we’re not telling them great stories. I never decide. I make films. I like a story, I make a film. Raksha Bandhan was the only film where I actually judged my audience," he said.

He explained that the decision to take the film on floors was flawed from the start, stressing that it had nothing to do with box office results. According to him, he has failed even with projects he felt confident about, but in this case, the problem lay in having the wrong motivation before beginning.

Aanand took full responsibility, describing Raksha Bandhan as a miscalculation shaped by misplaced expectations. “The problem was not with the script. The problem was with the director and the expectation from this director. If you ask me, did I enjoy the process? I enjoyed with Akshay sir. He was real. He was performing with total belief. But maybe this director’s heartbeat wasn’t with that rhythm. Somewhere, it didn’t land the way I was looking at it," he added.

What do we know about Raksha Bandhan

Raksha Bandhan released in August in 2022. The film stars Akshay Kumar, Bhumi Pednekar, Sadia Khateeb, Sahejmeen Kaur, Deepika Khanna and Smrithi Srikanth. Raksha Bandhan is a story about Lala Kedarnath (Akshay) and his relationship with his four sisters. It focuses on his efforts to get his sisters married and tackles issues such as dowry and body shaming. Actor Bhumi Pednekar is paired opposite Kumar in the film. The film failed to elicit expected response at the box office.