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Housefull 5 director Tarun Mansukhani breaks silence on his long hiatus, blames 'expensive divorce' from Karuna
Housefull 5 director Tarun Mansukhani revealed the reason why he couldn't capitalize on the success of Dostana. The director blamed his 'expensive divorce' for such a long gap between the films.
Tarun Mansukhani was one of the most sought-after directors after the success of his directorial debut, Dostana (2008). However, he took a long break to return to the movies—his second movie, released in 2019, Drive, starring the late Sushant Singh Rajput and Jacqueline Fernandez. And after 6 years of Drive, he directed Akshay Kumar's latest outing, Housefull 5.
In a recent conversation with Just Too Filmy, the filmmaker broke his silence and revealed the reason behind his long hiatus from filmmaking.
Tarun Mansukhani attributes his 'expensive' divorce to his long break after Dostana
The Housefull 5 director mentioned that he was not in the right state to direct any movie, as he was going through a tough time due to his 'unpleasant' and 'expensive' divorce. He admitted that Dostana's super success had opened many opportunities for him, but he couldn't capitalize on them due to the mental toll he was dealing with.
Tarun Mansukhani said, "A lot happened in life. I went through a divorce. It wasn't a pleasant one. It was an expensive one for me, and life just took its own turns. I was not in a bandwidth or headspace to make a film. What I knew about that point in time is that I am in debt, and I don't need to sort that out. I didn't want to make a film, I'll make money or get paid for it. The moment I do that, it is tainted by that because I am making a film in fear. I am not going to be fun on that set either."
For the uninitiated, the filmmaker parted ways with his ex-wife, Karuna, in 2014 after nine years of marriage. Reports suggest that the couple were facing issues since 2011. Though family and friends tried their hardest to mend ways between the two, things could never be reconciled. Tarun and Karuna have been living apart since 2012.
Mansukhani's latest directorial, Housefull 5, stars an ensemble cast that includes Akshay Kumar, Riteish Deshmukh, Abhishek Bachchan, Jacqueline Fernandez, Nargis Fakhri, Chitrangda Singh, Soundarya Sharma, Jackie Shroff, Sanjay Dutt, Shreyas Talpade, Fardeen Khan, Dino Morea, Johny Lever, Ranjit, and Nana Patekar.
Furthermore, Housefull 5 has already smashed Rs 220 crore gross at the worldwide box office, becoming the 6th highest-grossing movie of Akshay Kumar's career.
Stay tuned to Pinkvilla for more.
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