Guneet Monga had a wonderful conversation with Karan Johar about the production aspects, taking Indian films to a global level and a lot more. One of her biggest breakthrough films was The Lunchbox (2013), starring the late Irrfan Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Nimrat Kaur. Guneet explained how she raised money for the film and how Karan Johar came on board.
Guneet Monga reveals Karan Johar gave The Lunchbox its GAME-CHANGING headline; says “He spent Rs. 6.50 cr on P&A for our Rs. 10 cr indie film…helped us get 500 screens”
Guneet Monga said, “A lot of credit for The Lunchbox working in India goes to Dharma Productions for their genuine marketing. When it was being made, I was told, ‘Isko kaun dekhega?’. Earlier, it was a Rs. 10 crore budget film. Raising such an amount was difficult in India. When we raised Rs. 5.50 crores in France and Germany, the project became commercially viable. I was able to recover the balance Rs. 4.50 crores through MG within 48 hours of the Cannes premiere! India’s rights were yet to be sold, but its collections were going to be a bonus.”
She revealed, “I reached out to Karan. He was also in Cannes for the premiere of Bombay Talkies (2013). I saw him having a meal. I introduced myself; this was my first meeting with him. I told him, ‘You are the master of love stories and I feel I have made a beautiful love story. It’s broken out here in Cannes. We have sold the rights of the world. Would you please watch it?’. That’s how our friendship began. He gave me his number and asked me to show him the film in India.”
Guneet continued, “Once I returned to India, his film Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013) had been released. A week later, he saw the film and loved it. He walked out and gave us the film’s tagline – Can you fall in love with somebody you have never met? Then he called me to his office and asked me, ‘What do you need?’. I said, ‘A big release. We have done 100 screen releases and we can do that. I want a 500 screen plus release’.”
Guneet Monga further said, “He then called up UTV Motion Pictures. He even put in Rs. 6.50 crores of P&A. That was huge money for a film like this. It was still a film with no songs, had dialogues in English etc. That question of ‘Kaun aayega dekhne’ was valid even then. However, I feel we judge our audiences a lot.”
At another point in the interview, Guneet also explained how she raised money from France, “I realized that there was a treaty between India and France, which was signed way back in 1985. I was the first one to use the treaty for co-production in 2011-12. This is how I raised 50% of the budget from France (smiles).”
Also Read: Was there tension between Irrfan Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui on the sets of The Lunchbox? Guneet Monga BREAKS silence: “It was a part of the process…not significant…”
More Pages: The Lunchbox Box Office Collection , The Lunchbox Movie Review
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