We do not mind making way for Padmavati, says Umesh Shukla

Although Umesh Shukla’s 102 Not Out, a dramedy on the conflict between the oldest man in India and his 75-year-old son, has lost its release date to Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmavati on December 1, there is no acrimony in the director’s attitude.

“We’re all a part of the same family,” says the director, emotionally, “We don’t need to fight over release dates. I don’t mind making way for Padmavati. I was in the loop about the postponement of Padmavati by two weeks and its imminent clash with our film — with the Padmavati producers Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, who are our friends, and my producers T-Series. We could have still released on December 1. Padmavati and our film 102 Not Out are different in every possible way. We could have easily seen the same release date without coming in one another’s way.”

So, what stopped Umesh and his producers from adhering to the original December 1 release plan? “We aren’t ready yet because of the excessive rains this monsoon. Since 102 Not Out has Mumbai as the backdrop, our shooting has been delayed due to the heavy rains — in fact, I still have eight days of shooting left. I will complete the shooting in October and then we will decide a new release date,” says Umesh, promising that the new release date won’t be very far from December 1.

Umesh feels it is better not to rush the release. “No one is running away to anywhere. It doesn’t matter when you release a film as long as it is a work worth watching, and audiences will see it. That’s my firm belief.”