Mumbai, First Published Aug 5, 2022, 9:37 PM IST
KBollywood (Bollywood movies) are running on the reels of the era. Hindi film industry is at a loss as to what to do when superstar films that have been hyped and cost crores of money fail one after the other. Hindi films are not the only problem. The situation is dire when the challenge of South Indian films is stronger than ever before.
Looking ahead to 2022, things are not looking good in Bollywood. Even though the theaters are active after the covid crisis, there are only two or three films that have made any kind of profit at the box office in the last seven months. Around fifty releases between January and July including superstars. But in terms of collections, it was the relatively low-star films that shocked everyone. Vivek Agnihotri’s ‘The Kashmir Files’ is the highest grosser in Bollywood this year. The film earned around Rs 340 crores.
Karthik Aaryan’s film ‘Bhool Bhulaiya 2’ is at the second position, earning around 270 crores. Alia Bhatt’s ‘Gangubhai Kathiyawadi’ has also somehow entered the 200 crore club. Samrat Prithviraj, Bachchan Pandey, Dhakad, Gehraiyam, Jersey, Jayesh Bhai Jordaar and most recently Ranbir Kapoor’s Shamshera has been a complete flop.
Shamshera was Ranbir’s film that hit the theaters after four years of waiting. Producer Yash Raj Films spent crores on the production and promotion of the Karan Malhotra-directed film. The campaign even said that it is a Bollywood alternative to South Indian big films including Baahubali. But the film turned out to be a box office disaster in the first week of its release. Only 40 crores was earned in 7 days. Ranbir’s film, which fetches up to 70 crores, has already confirmed that it will not even reach the 100 crore club.
At the same time, local language films like Pushpa, KGF 2, RRR and Vikram have also made waves in the Hindi belt, keeping Bollywood acharyas awake. A South Indian film that has risen to pan-Indian standards in terms of making and content is making an amazing leap. If earlier only Rajinikanth films from the south attracted Bollywood fans, today the story has changed. Pushpa and Baahubali became household names even in the villages of North India. The advancement of Malayalam should also be mentioned. Great Indian Kitchen, Churuli and Malik all broke the boundaries of language through OTT.
Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam hit films are being remade into Hindi, Vijay Devarakonda and Nayanthara are getting ready for their Bollywood debuts, and the South Indian dominance is being confirmed one more time. Experts are warning that the Hindi film industry will face a complete collapse if corrective measures are not taken sooner rather than later.
On the other hand, the demand for players to reduce their salaries is also getting stronger. It is reported that Akshay Kumar is the highest paid actor in India. The news is that the actor has bought 130 crores for the upcoming film Cinderella. Aksha’s practice is to get a share of the profits if it’s a small budget film. Ranveer Singh, who is notable among young actors, is bought for around 50 crores. Salman, Shahrukh, Aamir etc are all earning 100 crores and above. Considering the recent failures, some are raising the question of how fair the stars are with the money they pocket. There is criticism that Akshay was not even ready to grow a mustache for Samrat Prithiraj. Critics also highlight Aki’s artificial moustache.
The makers have now halted the shooting of the Telugu film. It has been decided not to start shooting of new films until new ways are found to overcome the covid crisis and loss of income. Tollywood is thinking of all ways to reduce costs including reducing the remuneration of the stars. There is a growing need for Bollywood to think in the same way. Critics serve as a reminder that Khans, Kapoors and Kumars are not the only thing that matters, and that there is a need for deconstruction in theme, content and presentation.
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Last Updated Aug 5, 2022, 9:37 PM IST