Exclusive: Laalo – Krishna Sada Sahaayate director Ankit Sakhiya opens up on part 2 and Hindi version releasing alongside Dhurandhar

Laalo – Krishna Sada Sahaayate has emerged as a landmark film in Gujarati cinema, creating history with its extraordinary box office performance and emotional connect with audiences. Crossing the Rs 100 crore mark both in Gujarat and worldwide, the film has exceeded expectations and proven the power of strong storytelling and rooted content. In an exclusive chat with Pinkvilla, director Ankit Sakhiya talks about makers’ thoughtful approach of testing the film with diverse audiences ahead of the release, planning part 2 and more, as the film prepares to reach wider audiences through its Hindi release on January 9 in theatres. 

Excerpts from the interview:

PV: Laalo has earned Rs 100 crore in Gujarat alone and crossed Rs 100 crore worldwide, with huge weekend collections and massive milestones in its box office run. Was that expected? How do you see this success?

A: Collection-wise, we never expected this, but we knew that the film would reach the audience because the content is strong. I don’t know how to express this success, but we are all very happy that our Gujarati film has touched the hearts of many people.

PV: Please tell us about your concept of showing the film to all groups of people ahead of the final release and how you worked on the feedback.

A: Makers will always like their film because it is our baby, but we wanted it to be tested first on people from different sections and age groups to take feedback. We then made changes accordingly.

PV: Was there any scene that evolved significantly from script to screen?

A: The scene where Krishna Bhagwan explains to Laalo about how he was earlier was something different in the script. When it was shot, a lot of changes happened. Everything was based on improvisation and how the actor felt emotionally, but at the same time, it stayed true to the script.

PV: Laalo Hindi is releasing alongside Dhurandhar—two big films from two different languages making it big at the box office. How do you look at this?

A: Dhurandhar has achieved a milestone, and it is an achievement for Indian cinema. It has inspired us that if Laalo is also released in Hindi, more people will come to the theatre, and that is a very positive thing. I hope people give a lot of love to Laalo as well.

PV: Can you talk about your collaboration with the cinematographer and how the visuals supported the story?

A: Sunam Gajjar, our cinematographer, and I have been together since our college days. We have a very good tuning. We used to stay together 24×7, but after marriage, we started staying separately. Our conversations throughout the day were always about how to shoot and which lens to use. This process made things easier because of our understanding. We are always on the same page.

PV: Will we see a Part 2 of this?

A: I hope we get a story, but right now there is no plan to make Part 2. We still have to show Part 1 to more audiences and take it to more languages. We also want to make different stories, but if something comes up for Laalo 2, we will think about it.