Right Yaaa Wrong was an important film for Irrfan Khan as it marked his first full-fledged commercial venture. Irrfan was concerned about how audiences would perceive him alongside a complete mass entertainer like Sunny Deol.
Sunny Deol’s Struggles With Subhash Ghai
Sunny Deol, back in shape in every way, played a cop who, in the first two reels, loses the ability to walk. However, the narration sprints along through a series of unpredictable twists and turns, taking the striking characters across a maze of intrigue and conspiracy. The screenplay is far superior to its execution, which is entirely a comment on the above-average caliber of the writing.
The characters and their motivations align with the adventure-thriller-suspense world of James Hadley Chase and Sidney Sheldon. The men are brave and heroic, clever and fearless. Even when cuckolded, Deol remains dignified in the embrace of betrayal.
This film extended the borders of morality using commercial storytelling without resorting to crass situations and dialogues. For fans of Sunny Deol’s fist-friendly image, this was a film where the actor demonstrated that strength is sometimes about holding back rather than unleashing force.
Sunny Deol’s Disappointment With Marketin
Behind the scenes, Sunny Deol was very upset with how Subhash Ghai and his production house, Mukta Arts, marketed Right Yaaa Wrong.
In an interview with me after the film’s release, Sunny said, “It was always a good film. Mukta Arts (Subhash Ghai) has not been fair to it. They’ve publicized it like a small producer would have. For a large production house, they really didn’t seem to know what to do with the film. It was all talk, talk, talk… There were so many meetings and so many plans. But nothing happened. I’m fed up with all this empty talk. Now I only want to work on projects with a clear plan of action.”
Sunny felt that Ghai was not interested in the film. “He didn’t believe in Right Yaaa Wrong. And he was surrounded by advisers who were constantly trying to bisect and dissect the film. Filmmaking may be a team effort, but you can’t have a team of people always providing inputs and advice. That only causes chaos and confusion. The film has to finally go by one man’s vision. And that man is the director.”
Apparently, Ghai did not allow the director, Neerraj Pathak, to execute his vision. Sunny remarked, “At the end of the day, it’s his vision that determines the end product. You have to let the director do his job. Fortunately or unfortunately, I’m not the kind of person who interferes beyond a point. I can’t sit and talk, talk, talk. I’m a man of action.”-
Wrong Release Timing
Sunny accused Ghai of releasing the film at the wrong time. “They kept saying they’d release the film at the right time. Finally, they released it on the day the IPL matches started. How is that the right date? The truth is, they had lost interest in the film. But when they held trials, people liked the film. Suddenly, they decided to release it with haphazard publicity at a time when I was shooting in Punjab. They were initially supposed to release it in December, then January… What was I supposed to do? Give up shooting and run around doing publicity (for Right Yaaa Wrong) when they wanted me to? All big talk. The world is filled with big talkers.”
Subhash Ghai’s Response
On the other hand, Subhash Ghai responded to Sunny’s accusations with restraint and logic. “Mukta Arts is the worldwide controller and distributor of Right Yaaa Wrong. We weren’t able to sell the film anywhere. There were no buyers. The setup was not saleable. Our job was to provide funding for the film’s making, and therefore, we were the most insecure people in the project. Sunny saab’s reactions are based on how the film was received. Why didn’t he say all these things before release? I had gone to Sunny’s home at least six times. We initially planned to release it on November 30, but the stars—I’m talking not just about Sunny, but also Irrfan, Konkona, and Esha Koppikhar—had no time to promote the film.”
Regarding his alleged interference, Ghai said, “The director, Neerraj Pathak, himself came to me for advice. I only advised him to increase the film’s tempo. Is it a crime to give suggestions for a film where so much financial investment is at stake? The film was started during a boom, with big expectations. By the time it was released, the industry had changed. The cast and crew reaped the rewards, but we, the film’s financiers, were left with no returns. We sold the entire overseas territory for Rs. 20 lakhs and spent Rs. 1.5 crores on publicity. But the actors were not available for promotions. Sunny said he’s too shy to do publicity.”
Marketing Missteps And Changing Industry Trends
Ghai further added, “Look at Shah Rukh and Aamir, how they promote their films. They hold their producers’ hands and take them everywhere for publicity. Instead of promoting Right Yaaa Wrong, Sunny left for Punjab to shoot his film. Please don’t blame Mukta Arts. Now, why is Sunny getting agitated? He’s a good boy, but he’s innocent about the changing marketing strategies of cinema. Sunny needs to get real.”
