JD Majethia Calls Piracy ‘Main Culprit’ Behind Khichdi 2’s Underperformance – News18

JD Majethia, the versatile figure in the entertainment industry, candidly discusses the underperformance of his most recent project, Khichdi 2: Mission Paanthukistan. JD feels that piracy was the biggest reason behind the failure. The movie is a direct sequel to the 2010 comedy film Khichdi: The Movie and the beloved classic comedy series of the same name. Meanwhile, despite the limited release and tough competition from major releases like Ranbir Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra’s Anjaana Anjaani and Rajinikanth’s sci-fi thriller Robot, the first film managed to garner decent box office collections and positive reviews in 2010.

However, Khichdi 2, released in November 2023, garnered mixed reviews, struggled to generate numbers and failed to attract large crowds at theatres.

According to Sacnilk reports, the movie only grossed Rs 5.25 Crore worldwide. In a conversation with India Today, JD explained, “Release date galat hogayi. We didn’t want to release during Diwali with Tiger 3, so went for the next week. Sunday is the biggest day for films, but we had the World Cup finale that day and India was playing. It was a risk and sadly, it didn’t pay off. People did not want to wait to go to theatres to watch the film. Khichdi is also a film that’s not the best for the big screen but we wanted to make a film. Everyone downloaded and watched it in the comfort of their homes. I was amazed at the number of messages I received from everyone. However, it was too late. Honestly, I was really disappointed as we had worked so hard, especially on the songs and important sequences.”

JD Majethia further stated that films like Khichdi age well and will continue to be watched by audiences for many years. Despite the film’s minimum success in terms of business, he candidly shared that various things went against them, which prevented the movie from reaching the financial goal they had initially hoped for. However, Majethia stays positive and feels that a well-made product like Khichdi doesn’t truly fail.

The filmmaker also spoke about the challenges when making a sequel, as it involves tremendous pressure. He pointed out the changing taste of the audience over the years and claimed that what worked in the past may not resonate with audiences now. Despite the pressures, he shared that the cast of Sarabhai vs Sarabhai, including Rupali Ganguly, Rajesh Kumar and Satish Shah, has expressed eagerness for a sequel. They have even urged him to create at least one episode to continue the beloved series.

Written and directed by Aatish Kapadia, Khichdi 2 stars Supriya Pathak Kapur, Rajeev Mehta, Anang Desai, Vandana Pathak, JD Majethia and Kirti Kulhari in key roles. The movie also features interesting cameos of talented actors such as Flora Saini, Pratik Gandhi, Farah Khan, Kiku Sharda and Paresh Ganatra.