Mumbai, April 23 (IANS) Actor Shehzad Khan, who essayed the role of Bhalla in the cult-classic comedy ‘Andaz Apna Apna’, has debunked the long-standing myth around the film being a box-office failure.

Talking to IANS, the actor said, “The claim behind the movie not getting a good response during its theatrical run is completely false. The film ran for 25 weeks in the theatres during the time of its initial release. It was a silver jubilee”.

However, he did agree that the film’s publicity took a hit, and as a result, the film did suffer a bit on the money front.

He further mentioned, ““Yes, it is true that the distributors at that time didn't do justice to the publicity. And what could they have done in such a scenario? The poor producer can't do anything. Once the film goes into the hands of the distributors, then whether they accept it or not or treat it like a step-child. That is the call of the distributors totally. But at that time, I remember very well that it ran for 25 weeks, silver jubilee. And the satellite channels made it a cult classic”.

‘Andaz Apna Apna’ also starred Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, Raveena Tandon, Karisma Kapoor, Paresh Rawal (in a dual role) and Shakti Kapoor. The film was directed by Rajkumar Santoshi and produced by Vinay Kumar Sinha.

It followed the story of two gold diggers, who attempt to woo an heiress to have access to her father's wealth. They soon realise that the heiress has exchanged her identity with that of her secretary. By that point, one of them is genuinely in love with the heiress, and the other gold digger has fallen for the secretary.

The film is being re-released in theatres.