`Joker` an underdog film packaged commercially: Shirish Kunder

Mumbai: Director Shirish Kunder says his second directorial venture Joker, which released today, is an underdog film packaged with ample commercial elements. The fantasy adventure film stars Akshay Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha in lead roles. "My film is an underdog affair which has been packaged with commercial ingredients. Of course, since I am working with big stars, there are bound to be songs and dances as well," Kunder said. Joker is a story about an NRI played by Kumar, who assembles a bunch of villagers and camouflages them as aliens so as to get his neglected village Paglapur on the map of India. "This is the first ever film where such a plotline has been explored. So aren`t we different? People claim that they are making different films; I am making one in Joker," said Kunder, whose debut film was also an experimental musical in the form of Jaan-E-Mann. The director, who is married to ace Bollywood choreographer-director Farah Khan, rues the fact that not many commercial directors are trying to experiment and are just playing safe. "I am not seeing people taking initiative with a unique subject and then presenting them in full-on commercial format," he said. Joker also stars Shreyas Talpade, Minisha Lamba, Javed Jaffrey, Asrani, Vindu Dara Singh among others. The film also features an item song by actress Chitrangada Singh. PTI