Harish Shankar, who last directed the successful remake of the Tamil film Jigarthanda, Gaddalakonda Ganesh in 2019, had high hopes pinned on his next directorial. Mr Bachchan, a remake of the 2018 Hindi film Raid, starred Ravi Teja and Bhagyashri Borse in the lead roles. The film was released in theatres on August 15 but failed to make a mark at the box office.

Ravi Teja, Harish Shankar return portion of remuneration

Mr Bachchan clashed with Puri Jagannadh’s Double iSmart at the box office, but neither film made a mark. The actor and director returned some of their remuneration to People Media Factory, the film's producers. According to Sacnilk.com, Mr Bachchan has only made ₹14 crore worldwide since its release.

A source in the know told Hindustan Times that Ravi and Harish have voluntarily returned some of their remuneration to help cover the losses and shoulder some responsibility for its performance. “Ravi Teja has returned ₹4 crore, and Harish Shankar has given back ₹2 crore from their remuneration. No one asked them for it, but they felt bad when the film underperformed at the box office, as they were confident of its success. They decided to lessen the burden on the producers,” says the source.

Even before Mr Bachchan was released in theatres, the film received criticism from the internet for objectifying the female lead in songs. The film tells the story of an honest Income Tax officer who faces off against a powerful politician, played by Jagapathi Babu. While the original was a massive success, the remake’s commercial treatment was panned by the critics and audience.

Upcoming work

Ravi has two films lined up, both of which he’s shooting for. Gopichand Malineni directs one, and the other is directed by Bhanu Bhogavarapu. Harish has a film called Ustaad Bhagat Singh, the Telugu remake of the 2016 Tamil film Theri. It will star Pawan Kalyan in the lead role. Incidentally, Theri is also getting a Hindi remake starring Varun Dhawan and Keerthy Suresh as Baby John.

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