Experts said a combination of factors is responsible for these debacles, including Bollywood’s increasing disconnect with the masses, a lack of creativity, faulty storytelling and too much emphasis on stars.
“Bollywood filmmakers need a reality check,” said trade analyst Shaaminder Malik. “The films they are producing are just not connecting with moviegoers. They are spending a lot on the actors’ and directors’ fees, but not much on developing stories. Today, when a viewer is exposed to world cinema at the click of a button, a substandard product is not going to attract him to the cinema halls.”
As per industry estimates, Khan’s ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’, made on a budget of over ₹210 crore, managed to collect just ₹45 crore at the domestic box office over the extended five-day weekend. The film opened to mixed reviews on Thursday, and the numbers fell further over the weekend.
Akshay Kumar’s ‘Raksha Bandhan’ had an even worse opening. The film, which cost upwards of ₹120 crore, could net only ₹33-35 crore by Monday as per various estimates.
Many shows of these two films were cancelled by the cinema owners due to low occupancy, and screens were also reduced after the first day, say experts.
“Watching a movie in a cinema has become a costly affair,” said a producer, who did not wish to be named. “PVR just said they increased ticket and F&B prices. For a family of four, one movie now costs anywhere between ₹1,500 and ₹3,000. In a value-conscious market like India, if a viewer thinks the movie doesn’t merit that kind of spending, she is willing to wait 4-8 weeks for it to be released on OTT.”
Another reason, which many experts point out for the fiasco, could be the boycott campaign against the stars and Bollywood in general.
However, none of them was ready to substantiate the impact of the social media boycott.
“As word-of-mouth helps a movie, such boycott calls also impact the collections, especially in today’s environment,” said the head of a movie studio. “It is becoming more and more difficult to make a movie. There is no indemnity either against such boycotting. Most of the stars take their money and go, and it comes to the studios, who are funding the films, to face the blunt.”
Malik added that the lack of marketing is also an issue. “There are so many films waiting to be released, but unlike earlier, producers are not spending enough on the right marketing to create enough buzz and are depending only on star power to pull in audiences, which clearly isn’t working anymore,” said Malik.
The industry is now pinning its hopes on Ranbir Kapoor’s ‘Brahmastra’ (September 9), Hrithik Roshan’s ‘Vikram Vedha’ (September 30), Akshay Kumar’s ‘Ram Setu’ and Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Pathan’.
