Akshay Kumar’s ‘Khel Khel Mein’ was released on August 15. It faced competition from ‘Stree 2’ and ‘Vedaa’ at the box office. Despite opening to a warm response, the film has underperformed commercially. After running for 20 days, ‘Khel Khel Mein’ has managed to earn only 30 crores net domestically. The film was expected to break Akshay Kumar’s streak of box office failures but failed to do so. In an interview, director Mudassar Aziz discussed the mixed response and stated that the film requires “maturity of mind” to be fully understood.

Speaking with Zoom, the filmmaker said, “My biggest learning has been that a very large segment of our theater-going, ticket-buying Hindi cinema audience is heavily skewed towards the 15-30 age group. This audience makes ticket decisions based on several factors, which are sometimes unrelated to how much they will enjoy the film. The film needs to be perceived as an event, and an event precedes itself, before the quality of the film.”

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When asked if he succeeded in presenting his film as an event, the director replied, “Let’s start with the choice of story, the economic strata, and the maturity of mind required to comprehend a film like ‘Khel Khel Mein’. Why discuss marketing and release dates? There’s a certain mental intelligence and awareness about relationships that are prerequisites for understanding ‘Khel Khel Mein’. It’s not just an entertainer; it raises questions about relationships, marriages, and orientations.” He reiterated that certain factors influence the audience’s ticket-buying decisions.

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During the conversation, he also revealed that the film’s WhatsApp group, including the cast members, is still active. However, a sense of bittersweet dejection lingers there.

‘Khel Khel Mein’ is based on the 2016 Italian film ‘Perfect Strangers’. The film stars Akshay Kumar, Fardeen Khan, Vaani Kapoor, Taapsee Pannu, Ammy Virk, Aditya Seal, and Pragya Jaiswal in key roles. Upon its release, it competed with Shraddha Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao’s ‘Stree 2’, which has emerged as a blockbuster. Moreover, it competed with John Abraham and Sharvari’s ‘Vedaa’.