Stay in fight, don’t step out of the ring: Harshvardhan on success of ‘Sanam Teri Kasam’ re-release

Mumbai, Feb 13 (PTI) Harshvardhan Rane, who is enjoying a resurgence of sorts with the re-release of “Sanam Teri Kasam”, says while it took nine years for the film to do good numbers at the box office, he is happy he held on and fought the “long” fight.

The actor, however, regrets losing touch with the cast and crew of the 2016 Hindi romance drama after it didn’t do well at the box office.

Directed by Radhika Rao and Vinay Sapru, “Sanam Teri Kasam” was Rane’s Hindi film debut alongside Pakistani star Mawra Hocane. Since its re-release in theatres on February 7, the movie has raised Rs 27.96 crore nett, a marked improvement from its original release earnings of around Rs nine crore.

“It took so long for the film to do what we imagined that it’ll do… The one line that I’ve learned is to stay in the fight. You will be hurt, fall but you shouldn’t step out of the ring…

“Today is good, tomorrow might be different… I want to dedicate this moment to all my fellow actors who are out there, working on themselves every day… Just stay in the fight,” Rane told PTI in an interview here.

The popular dialogue “Picture abhi baaqi hai” from Farah Khan’s film “Om Shanti Om” starring Shah Rukh Khan sums up the trajectory of his journey, Rane said.

“SRK sir says ‘If it is not a happy ending then it is not an ending. Picture abhi baaqi hai’… All these dialogues of Farah Khan ma’am’s film feel real. I am now feeling these lines, these words are making a little more sense to me.”

Rane, who has since starred in films such as “Paltan”, “Taish”, “Haseen Dillruba”, and “Tara Vs Bilal”, said the failure of “Sanam Teri Kasam” came at a time when he was looking for “external validation”.

“And when I didn’t get it, I was like that very stupid cricket player who stopped talking to everyone. I take that blame and it was my mistake because when my film did not work, I lost touch with the directors, the producer Deepak Mukut sir, my costume designer Rushi Manushi, and Ankita Dhar, the art director. All lovely people on the set, and all the actors I lost touch with. I made a mistake. I don’t know how to justify it. But I was in this place where I wanted to just be myself,” he added.

He is also not in touch with Hocane, who got married last week to Pakistani actor-singer Ameer Gilani.

Calling it his “fault” of not being in contact with his co-star, Rane said the new box office numbers of the film will be the “best wedding gift” for Hocane.

“Sanam Teri Kasam” revolved around a tough ex-convict Inder (Rane) and a traditional librarian Saru (Hocane) who fall in love and get married but a tragedy changes their lives forever.

Videos of the 41-year-old actor surprising fans and getting mobbed by scores of women at one of the re-release screenings of the movie went viral on social media last week. Film personalities like John Abraham and Arjun Rampal also publicly congratulated him on finally getting his “due”. Abraham had also produced his 2022 film “Tara Vs Bilal”.

Rane said he is feeling “pure love”.

“(I see) acceptance and appreciation in their eyes and support more than anything else,” he said, adding that he first met Abraham in 2004 as a delivery boy.

“In 2004, I delivered a helmet from the motorbike brand showroom to a hotel. And the person who received the package was John sir’s manager Shruti. She told me ‘He’s asked you to wait.’ I wondered if I committed any mistake but he just came out to thank me. Three days ago, he shared a post on his Instagram. He’s a man of few words and said finally you got your due. But he summarised the last 20 years for me.”

Despite the film not doing great numbers nine years ago, “Sanam Teri Kasam” developed a cult following after re-runs on TV channels.

The chemistry between the leads, the star-crossed lovers angle along with a memorable soundtrack with songs like “Tera Chehra” and “Kheench Meri Photo” may be responsible for its popularity which has grown over time, but Rane said he doesn’t know why the film worked for a section of viewers.

“I might not be so aware about the numbers but I’m not foolish enough to claim that I know why a film works and why it doesn’t work. One thing I have learned is that it’s a silly debate that a film works for one reason… I don’t know but one should just follow their gut. If it is really good, it will work whenever it has to work,” he added.

Rane, who stood outside Mukut’s house along with fans of the film to request a re-release, said he once again will do something dramatic for the sequel to happen.