Rajeev Khandelwal blames poor release by producers for his films’ failure

Mumbai, July 14 (IANS) Actor Rajeev Khandelwal says that his work in films such as "Samrat & Co." and "Soundtrack" was appreciated but they failed at the box office due to poor release by the producers.

"If critics appreciate my work and still the film doesn't work, then that means it's not because of me. It's because the producers didn't release it in a way for it to succeed. Like the film 'Samrat & Co.' released in such a strange manner that people didn't know that the film is releasing.

"The film "Soundtrack' had come, no one watched it and later when people watched it on DVD, all said that it was a very good film. People always say that they didn't watch 'Soundtrack' in the cinema hall and if they didn't watch it was not because of me, it was because it was the responsibility of the producer to release it well," Rajeev said.

While "Soundtrack" had released in 2011, "Samrat & Co." released in 2014.

"About certain films, people usually say that they are good but they didn't work well. How would it work well? It had released in 50 screens and no one gave it even 300 or 500 or 1000 screens to play it," he said.

Rajeev, who was a popular television actor before he ventured into films, started his career with a bang with "Aamir" for which he was nominated for the best debut in most of the awards. He followed that up with Bejoy Nambiar's "Shaitan". But post that, his films have not been able to reach the same success.

"'Shaitan' was released well and it earned money as well, and 'Table No. 21' could have been a bigger release but earned money according to the level it was released in. Both were profitable films," he said.

Rajeev's performances have largely been appreciated, in both his successes and his failures. About the praise coming his way, he said: "I like appreciation from all sides; you get an encouragement from it. I hope that I don't fail against critics' expectations and not disappoint them."

Rajeev will next be seen in "Fever".