Shriya Saran has reflected on the challenges she faced after the 2007 romantic thriller did not perform as expected and recalled how the period affected her personally.
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Shriya Saran on being excluded from award shows after Awarapan (PC: Twitter)
Almost two decades after its release, Awarapan continues to find new viewers and remains an emotional favourite for many fansThe 2007 film did not make a strong impact at the box office when it first arrived, but its music and intense storyline helped it gain a loyal following over the yearsShriya Saran, who played Aaliyah in the film, has now opened up about how its initial failure affected herShe recalled expecting the film to be celebrated and said she was deeply hurt when she was not invited to some award functions even though the film had received nominations.
Shriya Saran recalls the difficult phase after Awarapan
Speaking about the film’s release Shriya Saran said the team had high hopes for AwarapanShe felt the film may simply have been ahead of its time and was particularly disappointed by the way it was received initially.
“When the film came out, we all had lots of hopes for itBut I don’t know why; I think it was ahead of its timeIt was even nominated in some award shows, and they didn’t send me an inviteIt was like thatAnd Awarapan is a movie which I felt would be celebrated; people would love itSo when something like that happens, you kind of feel very disheartened,” Shriya said.
Why Awarapan eventually became a cult favourite?
The actress also spoke about the unexpected way audiences continued to embrace the filmFor a long time she believed its popularity was mainly because of the soundtrack and Emraan Hashmi’s presenceSongs such as “Toh Phir Aao, Tera Mera Rishta, Maula Maula and Mahiya” became closely associated with the film.
Shriya later came to believe that viewers connected with the story itself“So then, for the longest time, I thought maybe it was the songs they loved, because the songs were amazing and Emraan was amazingBut now, you know, I feel like people loved the storyThey kind of felt itBecause it’s a very intense, intense storySo people really felt itOtherwise, the amount of love they’re still giving it, the amount they’re giving to it even now, it wouldn’t be like thatIt wouldn’t be.”
What Awarapan was about?
Directed by Mohit Suri and produced by Mahesh Bhatt and Mukesh Bhatt, Awarapan followed Shivam Pandit played by Emraan HashmiThe troubled gangster is assigned to watch over Aaliyah a Pakistani woman played by Shriya SaranThe assignment gradually changes his outlook and leads him towards a difficult emotional journeyThe film also featured Mrinalini Sharma, Ashutosh Rana, and Purab Kohli in the leading rolesThe supporting lineup had Shaad Randhawa, Salil Acharya, Rehan Khan, Ashish Vidyarthi, Atul Parchure, and Sandeep Sikand in pivotal roles.
The original Awarapan was made on a reported budget of around Rs 18 crore and earned about Rs 7.76 crore in domestic net collectionsIts worldwide gross was around Rs 12.18 croreAlthough the film struggled commercially at the time its later television exposure and popular soundtrack helped it build a much stronger legacy.
Despite its weak theatrical performance the film gained recognition through television screenings and its musicIts audience grew steadily and it eventually developed a reputation as a cult film.
The arrival of most anticipated sequel
The story is now returning with Awarapan 2Directed by Nitin Kakkar, the sequel stars Emraan Hashmi alongside Disha Patani and Shabana Azmi. It is scheduled to release in theatres on August 14 and will arrive on the same day as Sunny Deol’s Batwara 1947.
