More than 40 Harley Davidson motorcycles making the rounds of Ahmedabad city on the morning of Sunday, 10th July… The riders — all proud owners of their mean machines — holding flags of Raado, made specially for the occasion… The film’s leading lady, Tarjanee Bhadla, sitting pillion with hero Yash Soni on a Harley bike, holding a huge Raado flag, fluttering in the cool air for the entire 90-minute ride…
The Raado Harley Davidson event was flagged off by your editor, Komal Nahta, and the film’s producer, Jayesh Patel, in the presence of the film’s entire cast, writer-director Krishnadev Yagnik, and co-producer Nilay Chotai. The other producer, Munna Shukul, could not attend. All the motorbikes assembled at Kantam Party Plot after the long ride. Meanwhile, a huge crowd had assembled at the grounds to watch the actors of the costliest Gujarati film regaling them in flesh and blood, and professional motorbike stunt artistes doing a lot of daredevilry thereafter. Yash Soni soon joined the stunt artistes to cheer them from close quarters. The cheering of the crowds increased.
Krishnadev Yagnik — or KD, as he is affectionately referred to in the film trade — gives the entire credit for the making of the Rs. 15 crore film to his producers. “They deserve all the kudos for backing such a huge product,” smiles KD. On their part, Patel and Chotai are unanimous in their opinion that they had implicit faith in KD. Both clarified that they didn’t even hear the script before giving KD the green signal to go ahead with Raado in spite of the unprecedented budget. That’s because 37-year-old KD has an enviable track record of only hits and super-hits —Chhello Diwas, Karsandas Pay & Use, Shu Thayu? and the latest Naadi Dosh. While Jayesh Patel is an NRI, settled in London, Nilay Chotai has varied businesses in Baroda and the rest of Gujarat.
For the uninitiated, normal big-budget Gujarati films cost Rs. 2.50 crore to 3 crore to make. The maximum budget of Gujarati films so far has probably been Rs. 3.50 crore except for one or two films with higher budgets. Compare this with the Rs. 15-crore budget of Raado and you will be able to understand the hugeness of the film. Raado, slated for release on 22nd July, is an action thriller starring Yash Soni, Hitu Kanodia and Hiten Kumar with Nilam Panchal, Prachi Thaker, Devarshi Shah, Tarjanee Bhadla, Bharat Chawda and Nikita Sharma.
KD’s previous film, Naadi Dosh, was released last month in cinemas and, even in its fourth week, it is still going great guns all over Gujarat. The total net collections for the first 24 days is around Rs. 13 crore! Murlidhar Chhatwani (Sonu) of Panorama Studios, distributor of Naadi Dosh and Raado, shares a funny piece of conversation between him and KD. Before revealing the conversation, let it be mentioned here that Shamshera will hit the screens on 22nd July, the same day as Raado. Well, one fine day, KD telephoned Sonu to enquire how he would manage the screen count and showcasing. Assuming that KD was talking about Raado, and that his immediate concern was Shamshera, Sonu tried to assure him that he would manage a good release for Raado in spite of the formidable opposition of Shamshera. “No, I’m not asking you about Raado,” said KD to Sonu, adding, “I’m concerned about Naadi Dosh. I hope, we will get to continue Naadi Dosh in cinemas in a good number of shows alongside Raado.” Concluded Sonu, “That’s what I would call confidence of the next level. Naadi Dosh will be in its sixth week when Raado would be released. KD was sure that even in its sixth week, Naadi Dosh would still be doing good business, and he didn’t want that business to be sacrificed because of his own new film (Raado).”
The best part about the Raado team is that each of the team members is so unassuming that you wouldn’t be able to say that they have made a Gujarati film which has a budget which is five times the budget of most of the normal star-cast Gujarati films made before it. And the way they are promoting the film all over Gujarat, you can literally feel their supreme confidence in the film. In fact, so palpable is the confidence that one is now waiting with bated breath to see which film opens better than which film on 22nd July in Gujarat and Saurashtra. Yes, you read it right!