Aanand L Rai reacts to claims of Raksha Bandhan being called regressive: ‘Next time when I make a film…’

Director Aanand L Rai shared his views on people criticising his film Raksha Bandhan and calling it regressive. Starring Akshay Kumar in the lead, the film narrates the story of a brother and his four sisters as he promises to get his sisters married before he can tie the knot with his childhood sweetheart. The film has been called problematic for several words to describe women and only amounting everything in their life to getting married. (Also read: Raksha Bandhan’s Sadia Khateeb reacts to people calling film regressive for calling women ‘double decker’)

While Akshay Kumar plays the role of the brother, Lala Kedarnath, Bhumi Pednekar is seen as his girlfriend. Actors Sadia Khateeb, Deepika Khanna, Smrithi Srikanth and Sahejmeen Kaur play Akshay’s four sisters in Raksha Bandhan. The film highlights the horrors of the dowry system in India.

After Sadia Khateeb came out in support of the film, now Aanand L Rai reacted to people who called Raksha Bandhan problematic. In an interview with News18, he said, “You can’t ignore this. I know, we should be very progressive, we are in many ways. But there are many things that need to be taken care of and you can’t shut your eyes off. Not talking about it will not give you a solution. As a maker, I can’t write articles, I can’t make documentaries. My only way of expressing myself is through films. So, if you feel there is something regressive about this, that means there is time to correct our society.”

“I can say we are the best in the world, but are we? We are trying our best. This thing of us (the actors and filmmaker) coming together and telling you a story like Raksha Bandhan where you feel there is something regressive, that means our intention was just to take the focus there. Let’s not ignore it, let’s deal with it. So next time when I make a film, you’ll not find that kind of regression,” the director added. The film was released on Friday. Despite opening on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan, it only collected ₹8.2 crore. It further fell to around ₹6 crore the next day, and is so far Akshay Kumar’s lowest opening film in the last ten years, as per film trade analysts.