IIFA 2019: Sriram Raghavan's interesting take on 'AndhaDhun's mystery

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that suspense thriller has been a genre in Bollywood that has either not been explored to the fullest, or not lived up to the expectations. An exception to this was last year’s ‘AndhaDhun’ directed by Sriram Raghavan and starring current sensation Ayushmann Khurrana. Apart from the fact that the story kept the audiences glued to their seats through every second of running time, the climax of the movie became much of a talking point. Sriram Raghavan’s smart use of an open-ended climax left the viewers making their own interpretations of what exactly happened and if Ayushmann’s character Akash was indeed blind. Sriram Raghavan had an interesting reaction to this when he was honoured with the Best Director award at the recently-concluded IIFA Awards. The director refused to give it away again, but in a metaphorical statement shared that Akash could see, and his eyes were that of the audience. 

READ: 'AndhaDhun' Director Sriram Raghavan Reacts To Reports Of Collaboration With Shah Rukh Khan, Reveals His Next Project

‘AndhaDhun’ at IIFA 2019: 

‘AndhaDhun’ was among the big winners at the IIFA 2019 held in Mumbai on Wednesday.  While Ayushmann Khurrana, who had won the National Award for the movie, lost out to Ranveer Singh in the Best Actor category, the movie was honoured for Best Story (Sriram Raghavan along with Arijit Biswas, Hemanth Rao, Pooja Ladha Surti, Yogesh Chandekar) and Best Director. 

READ: 'Andhadhun' Duo Sriram Raghavan & Ayushmann Khurrana To Reunite

When Sriram Raghavan came on the stage to collect his award, he asked his lead actor Ayushmann Khurrana if he should share if Akash was indeed blind. His lead actor gave him the go-ahead.  

Sriram Raghavan then said, “Akash could see in the film.” But like his script, the punch was for the end, “His eyes were that of the audience” as the audience burst into an applause. 

Interestingly, another member of the cast of ‘AndhaDhun’, Tabu had earlier stated in an interview that she also was not aware of what the climax was all about. She had stated that she had asked Sriram Raghavan about it, but he didn’t tell her either. She shared that her director was happy about people having their own versions of the ending. 

READ: IIFA 2019: Nushrat Bharucha On What She'd Change For Women In B-town

‘AndhaDhun’ loses out 

Apart from Ayushmann Khurrana’s Best Actor victory, ‘AndhaDhun’ was adjudged the Best Hindi film at the National Awards held earlier this year. However, at the IIFA 2019, it was pipped by Meghna Gulzar’s ‘Raazi.’ 

READ: IIFA 2019: Jim Sarbh's Quirky Reaction On Advice To 20-year-old Self