Madgaon Express Box Office Day 1: Kunal Kemmu's directorial earns Rs 1.50 crore

A still from Madgaon Express Pic/YouTube Screenshot

Kunal Kemmu marked his directorial debut with the film ‘Madgaon Express', which hit the big screens on March 22. Despite a clash with the Randeep Hooda-directed Swatantra Veer Savarkar, the film earned slightly more. As per reports, it raked in Rs 1.50 crore on its first day at the box office.

‘Madgaon Express' revolves around three young boys played by Divyenndu, Pratik Gandhi, and Avinash Tiwary, who dream about vacationing in Goa. Their dream, however, comes true but only to turn into a nightmare as the three friends, all grown up now, embark on a train journey via Madgaon Express to reach their destination Goa. This marks the dynamic trio's first collaboration on the silver screen in the light-hearted film. Nora Fatehi, Upendra Limaye, and Chhaya Kadam are also a part of the comedy-drama.

In an interview with mid-day.com, Kunal revealed that he had scripted the film for himself after not getting the desired acting opportunities. He shared, "I had written the film for myself to act in. But when I narrated it to Farhan, he suggested that I direct it. I felt I wasn't getting the opportunities I wanted. Do I want to crib about the opportunities that I don't have, or work on creating opportunities? That's how ‘Madgaon Express' happened."

Kemmu has been acting since the age of six. As he begins a new chapter in his career, he says he has been influenced by the directors with whom he worked on comedies. "I did Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke [1993] with Mahesh Bhatt, Dhol [2007] with Priyadarshan, Golmaal with Rohit Shetty, 99 [2009] and Go Goa Gone with Raj-DK. I saw them at work, absorbed it, and then tried to find my own voice."

When asked why he chose not to act in his film, the actor concluded, "It would have been too much to handle for my first film."

Talking about his experience of shooting in Goa, Kunal told ANI, "I love Goa, I have been there many times to shoot films and it is the most relatable place. When you say Goa everybody in the country knows that it is all about fun, some kind of excitement, and beaches and it kind of resonates. Also, I am telling the story about boys who live in Bombay and to give them something aspirational is so relatable. They were so close to Goa but still could not reach Goa till 20 years"

‘Madgaon Express' is produced by Ritesh Sidhwani and Farhan Akhtar.

(With inputs from ANI)