When there’s already so much negativity against Bollywood, why are the Bollywood people themselves posting negative things about their brethren?

– The whole negativity wave started in the public because a handful of Bollywood people spoke ill of successful Bollywood personalities in the aftermath of Sushant Singh Rajput’s demise. That continues in the minds of members of the general public. And the negative talk about successful people by some disgruntled people in the film industry also continues. But a correction is bound to happen. One self-styled film critic has already been arrested. That’s a correction!

If Liger could not take even a decent initial in spite of aggressive promotion, is pre-release marketing and promotion really necessary?

– Of course, it is! For every LIGER, there is a BHOOL BHULAIYAA 2 or an RRR (dubbed), which opened to great houses, thanks to wonderful promotion, among other things.

Does the continuous flopping of films at the box-office imply that the days of cinemas are numbered? Has OTT replaced cinemas?

– Not really! Films are flopping in theatres because the content is bad, not because OTT is posing formidable competition to cinemas.

Can Munjya be termed a hit?

– Of course, it’s a major hit. For the first week’s share to be almost the same as the cost of the film is no mean achievement. What’s more, the second week’s collections have also been outstanding.

It is so easy for anyone to file a petition against a film’s release. Does the film industry have no remedy against this menace?

– None, till the government decides to come down heavily on such litigation which, more often than not, is frivolous.

It is believed that controversies invariably help a film’s box-office because the more talked about a film, the more number of people would want to watch it. Right or wrong?

– Wrong! A film which lacks merits cannot hope to benefit due to controversies surrounding it. The latest example is this week’s HAMARE BAARAH. Despite being in the news since the last more than a fortnight, it opened to dismal houses today.

Will any film this year take a great opening?

– Perhaps, Rohit Shetty’s CIRKUS will, besides a couple of Hollywood films. Today’s Hollywood release, BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER, has opened quite well. The trade has pinned a lot of hopes on CIRKUS, as far as Bollywood films are concerned.

Have people stopped coming to the theatres? If so, why?

– There are several reasons why many people have stopped frequenting cinemas. For one, they feel, it is not worth their while to go to the cinemas because they can watch the films in the comfort of their homes after three months. Secondly, having been exposed to world cinema and web series on OTT platforms during the lockdowns, their tastes have changed, they have started realising the worth of good content over good face value. In other words, star names don’t attract them as much as arresting content. Thirdly, the bad name which Bollywood got in the aftermath of Sushant Singh Rajput’s demise, thanks to a handful of industry people who openly criticised Bollywood as a whole when actually, they had an axe to grind with only some persons in Bollywood, is also taking its toll on the box-office collections. Why would the general public analyse whether it was personal vendetta of those handful of industry people or Bollywood was actually full of bad people? It suited the public to think of Bollywood as a place full of sinners, which is not true. Every industry has its share of good and bad people. But because they were industry insiders badmouthing Bollywood, their word was taken seriously by the gullible public. As it is, there is a tendency among laymen to believe negative stories more than positive ones about the rich and famous. It will take some time for the public to return to the cinemas. Our content has to improve too!

Has corporatisation helped the industry more or harmed it more?

– Let’s put it this way: corporatisation has helped the industry grow manifold but it has had to pay a price for the growth.

How does it help to inflate box-office collections by doing block bookings of tickets of a film, as is being done these days?

– Block booking serves to massage the egos of the persons associated with the film because it gives the impression to the trade that the film has done well — at least, that’s what the persons associated with the film would like to believe. Of course, in reality, the trade people are not easy to fool or mislead because they know the facts on ground level. There’s another angle too. Since most of the film media people are generally irresponsible in disseminating information about film business figures and hence happily report the fake collections (sometimes for favours in return, and sometimes because they don’t have the wherewithal to verify the collections before reporting them), the public is also misled into believing that the film has performed the way the producers want people to feel. Occasionally, this misconception among people might prompt them to watch the ‘hit’ or ‘successful’ film, leading to more footfalls.

Producers used to ‘buy’ tickets of their own films in the 1980s and 1990s too. Then why is such a hue and cry being made about block bookings now?

– In the good old days, producers used to resort to ‘feeding’ in a couple of cinemas only. Block bookings today are on an altogether different level. For a recent film, the producers block-booked tickets worth Rs. 40 crore (net collections). In those days, producers used to ‘tear tickets’ worth, say, a few thousand rupees only.

What kind of opening will next week’s Chhaava take?

– Bumper!

What are your predictions about the first day’s collections of Tiger 3? Will the opening day’s figure be the highest ever?

– The first day’s figure can’t be the highest ever because the film will release on the day of Diwali (Laxmi pooja). This may be a festive holiday but a lot of public of The Hindu community do not frequent cinemas on that day because they are bust with the festivities which include the Laxmi pooja, visiting family, relatives and friends, bursting crackers, etc. Also, several cinemas suspend a show or two on that day so that their staff members can celebrate the festival (including performing the Laxmi pooja) with their families. Shows suspended translates in to loss of revenue.

Will Vikrant Massey now get offers of commercial films from regular and big banners, after the success of his 12th Fail?

– He should! It will be a tragedy if commercial filmmakers and big producers even now don’t consider him as an actor who can deliver. But, I think, producers will wake up to the fact that he is a fantastic actor.

Why did producer Dinesh Vijan release Sajini Shinde Ka Viral Video in cinemas without any publicity or promotion?

– Yes, you are right. He shouldn’t have released it in cinemas without enough promotion. The film was actually made for OTT release. A theatrical release was an afterthought.

Why did Sunny Deol starrer Jaat not take a good start yesterday (Thursday, April 10) in spite of the Mahavir Jayanti holiday? The trade people were gung-ho about the film before it hit the screens.

– The trade people were excited about JAAT before its release largely because it is produced by the banner which made PUSHPA: THE RISE PART 1 and PUSHPA: THE RULE PART 2. Yes, they were also excited because they liked the trailer, but the public did not like it half as much. The O Rama song did not gain traction; the promotion in general was not at all up to the mark; and the “Sorry bol” dialogue of Sunny Deol did not cut much ice with the people because, according to them, “Sunny is not meant to be bothered about such niceties as saying ‘sorry’, he has his dhai kilo ka haath, so why should he request anyone to apologise?” Clearly, common people think differently from how the trade people do… at least, sometimes.

Was it the right decision for the producers of Jaat to have released the film on Thursday (April 10) instead of the usual Friday?

– Releasing JAAT on Thursday was not a wrong decision at all. At several places, the film’s producers reaped the benefit of the Mahavir Jayanti holiday yesterday (Thursday, April 10).  

After the debacle of Sikandar, what corrective steps should Salman Khan take?

– He should sign the right kind of films. What is meant by ‘the right kind’? Well, those that have the ingredients to become hits. Easier said than done, of course!