Actor Ayushmann Khurrana says his highly lauded film "An Action Hero" failed to draw audiences to cinema halls because its theatrical release timing was "bad".

Directed by debutant Anirudh Iyer, the action-comedy-thriller opened to good reviews upon its December 2 theatrical release but fell short at the box office. “An Action Hero” received a better response when it premiered on Netflix in January.

According to Khurrana, timing matters a lot for theatrical releases in the post-pandemic era.

"It really depends on timing. This is the best time, the theatricals are also back and I am glad mid-budget films are working. It is a great silver lining.

"I think it was a bad time then. ‘An Action Hero’ got a lot of love later. I will keep on making these choices. I am sure theatricals will happen and we will do well,” the actor told PTI.

"An Action Hero" revolved around superstar Manav (Khurrana), who after getting caught up in an accident while shooting a film tries to escape Bhoora, a revenge-hungry municipal councillor, played by Jaideep Ahlawat.

Khurrana's next release is “Dream Girl 2”, the sequel to his 2019 comedy drama. In the movie, Khurrana played a man whose female voice impersonation as Pooja begets attention from others.

The second part, the actor said, is more entertaining.

“This is like ‘Dream Girl 2.0’ in a way... It is a different scenario altogether. If you found ‘Dream Girl’ funny, this is going to be 10 times more fun. It is probably my second single-screen film. Most of my films are multiplex films, this is going to be a big blast. I am expecting a lot from ‘Dream Girl 2’,” he added.

Asked if sequels or franchises are a safe zone today, Khurrana said, “Sequels of blockbuster films will have a lot of traction, but eventually the script works.” Raaj Shaandilyaa, who had helmed the first part, is returning to direct “Dream Girl 2”.

The upcoming movie also stars Ananya Panday, Annu Kapoor, Paresh Rawal, Vijay Raaz, Manoj Joshi, Rajpal Yadav, Seema Pahwa, Manjot Singh and Abhishek Banerjee.

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