‘Fighters, not losers’: Rajesh A Krishnan on the three heroines of ‘Crew’

Rajesh A Krishnan’s Crew has gotten off to a flying start, cruising towards the Rs 40-crore mark close to a week after its release. Crew stars Tabu, Kareena Kapoor Khan and Kriti Sanon as air hostesses who become smugglers after their airliner owner Vijay Walia goes bankrupt. The movie boasts of dazzling chemistry between its heroines, numerous moments of hilarity, and a rare portrayal of women who are not on the verge of a nervous breakdown when staring down hurdles.

Krishnan joined the Rhea Kapoor-Ekta Kapoor production after its script, by Nidhi Mehra and Mehul Suri, was well underway. Having previously directed the series Tripling (2016-2019) and Lootcase (2020), the 52-year-old advertising filmmaker was proficient with the rhythms of comedy. Krishnan spoke to Scroll about the anatomy of successful humour, handling his high-wattage heroines, and whether Crew needed a better ending.

Is Crew doing as well as you expected or much better?

I have zero expectations from any work that I do. I know it sounds Zen-like...

That doesn’t sound too plausible.

I’ve been doing commercials all my life. We do a commercial and put it out there. Sometimes, it does exceedingly well and sometimes it doesn’t.

One can only concentrate on the process. That’s the only thing in my control. But it is overwhelming. It’s not something I really expected. I’m sure...

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