Years after years, movies have come and gone and we have witnessed sheer madness around some of them. Be it from the times of Dilip Kumar, Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan to the era when the ‘Khan Trinity’ of Bollywood ruled the industry, a lot has transformed and for good. Since change is perhaps the only constant on this planet, we now see the likes of modern-day stars like Tiger Shroff, Varun Dhawan, Sidharth Malhotra, Arjun Kapoor and others doing something completely different from what the Khan trinity perhaps did at that age. While a lot of analysis of pre-release and post-release gets done, it’s hilarious and perhaps dangerous at the same time that even today, we have not really found a fixed formula to ensure a movie gets a basic amount of success in box office. Yes, we understand that nobody can guarantee a blockbuster as they are never planned. But hey, isn’t it funny that despite so much of analysis and research in terms of what the audience likes and how their preferences are evolving, we as an industry are still finding it difficult to hit the bull’s eye?
The Covid-19 pandemic had already played a huge spoilsport for the movie industry. In a rather uncontrolled and forced manner, they have no option but to be confined to their respective houses to enjoy content in their mobiles, laptops and tablets. Also, the luring OTT subscription rates are perhaps another reason why people are willing to hold their horses and wait for a certain film to reach their OTT platform instead of showing excitement to watch the first-day show. Well, no wonder we don’t see long queues piling up outside cinema halls for tickets, a phenomenon very common in the 80s and 90s decade.
Yes, there were a lot of expectations from certain stars and their movies once theatres opened up again after the third wave. However, unfortunately the majority of the films barring a handful have failed to deliver. While the likes of big stars like Tiger Shroff and Ajay Devgn couldn’t really meet expectations due to which Heropanti 2 and Runway 34 bombed ridiculously at the box office, movies like Pushpa, RRR and KGF 2 have certainly taken over the madness. So what exactly is happening? The only exception in this case so far has to be Kartik Aaryan and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2. He is perhaps operating at a different level altogether and that’s certainly great for his fans and stardom value. So, the bigger question is are fans no longer interested to see their favourites slay the 70mm screen just with their presence? Does high-octane action or products with fine VFX get no value on the big screen today? Three of the leading film critics in the country, Subhash K Jha, Komal Nahta and Ram Kamal Mukherjee exclusively share their opinion with us.
Subhash K Jha: There is no proper guideline as to what works and what doesn’t. Post Covid-19, it is all very uncertain. Saying that large spectacles will work is erroneous. Just because Rajamouli’s films RRR and KGF 2 worked doesn’t mean all spectacles will work. Concerning comedy movies, one worked and the other didn’t. Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 worked whereas JugJugg Jeeyo didn’t. So, right now, I feel that the box office is completely unpredictable and eccentric and I feel I don’t have any answers in terms of what will work. What I can say that the film industry should do is stop making obsolete, old-fashioned movies and stop relying on old formulas. Give the audience something new since they are now used to watching films and content from all over the world on OTT. Watching stale, formalistic old-fashioned movies will just not work. That’s all that I know as of now.
Komal Nahta: Films which are not being liked by the audience are failing. So, it’s not that the films that seem to be good are failing. The films that deserve to fail are failing. The second half in Runway 34 was not necessary and hence it flopped. The concept and nature of JugJugg Jeeyo were so ‘Unindian’ in thought that it had to flop. So, I think that good content is working and it is only poor content that is failing.
Ram Kamal Mukherjee: It’s clear that audiences are not keen on spending Rs 1500 on a weekend to watch something which can be viewed on the home screen. They are coming to watch visual extravaganza and language is no more a barrier. The ‘star system’ is falling apart, where a mainstream actor like Akshay Kumar (Prithviraj Chauhan) or Ranveer Singh (Jayeshbhai Jordaar) hardly managed to get an opening at the box office, whereas complete unknown names (in Bollywood) like Allu Arjun (Pushpa) Ram Charan/Jr NTR (RRR) and Yash (KGF 2) stormed the box office. We are now back to a trend where people cared for content and not just ‘star presence’.
Of course, this too is a phase and hence, I feel that this too will end. But there is time for people to go back to the big screen and watch films like Kahaani, Piku and Bheja Fry. The economic upswing or financial boom can only help in bringing back the golden era of Bollywood.
Well, all we can hope is that the big minds who matter in Bollywood are listening to this important feedback shared by some of the most knowledgeable critics who have been around in the country and for many years. Buck up Bollywood, time to pull up your socks and get going. We believe in you. The question you need to ask is, ‘Do you believe in yourself?’