Utkarsh Sharma reacted to the box office failure of Vanvaas and Nana Patekar: “The screen war between Allu Arjun’s Pushpa 2 and Varun Dhawan’s Baby John had a big impact on us” |

Utkarsh Sharma, son of film producer Anil Sharma, served as lead actor in Gadar 2 after she was the child actor in the original Gadar. Later, he worked with his father again on the 2024 family drama Vanvaas, which also featured Nana Patekar and Simratt Kaur. Although the movie received different reviews, it struggled at the box office.
Release time and screen competition
In conversation with the screen, Utkarsh discusses why Vanvaas is not performing well. He shared that the main reason for the poor box office of Vanvaas was the timing of release. He thinks the movie is Pushpa 2 and John Baby John, which led to fierce screen competition. Despite the increase in the first week, limited screen availability has affected the potential of the movie. Running at 90-95% capacity, there is demand, but a fierce screen competition has hindered its success. He hopes that future releases will avoid such problems, as India does not have enough screens to come once.OTT success and dramatic reaction
Vanvaas has attracted new audiences on streaming, but Utkarsh admits he wants to see the audience’s reaction in the theater. He mentioned that the film was excellent on OTT and received positive comments because there was no screen competition there. However, he was even more excited about the energy of the dramatic audience. While Ott is good for Vanvaas, he misses out on the direct feedback from the audience, saying it is like working from home, which lacks the pleasure of experiencing the audience’s reaction to life.

Why did he choose Van Vass
Utkarsh shares why he agreed to be a member of Vanvaas. He explained that he thought it was a rare opportunity to be part of a family movie made for big screens, because these movies were no longer made for cinemas. He believes the film’s emotional and family-oriented theme makes it a project worth continuing.
Continuous growth as an actor
He further added that as an actor it was a constant learning and growth process. He admitted that over time he became more aware of his strengths and weaknesses, thus realizing areas he could improve. This is an opportunity to challenge yourself and constantly discover new aspects of your craft.

Upcoming projects: Comedy and Action
When asked about the upcoming project, Utkarsh Sharma revealed that he is currently shooting two very different films – one is a full comedy and the other is a pure action movie. He shared that solving these types of contrast is challenging, but each project is also a great learning experience for him.