Boycott calls add to Bollywood’s blues
Premium- A lot of people can’t distinguish between real and fake news branding actors and filmmakers as anti-national
NEW DELHI : Calls to boycott individual films are adding to Bollywood’s woes, at a time the industry is struggling to bring audiences back to theatres. Apart from Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha, Hrithik Roshan’s Vikram Vedha, and Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan have also been targeted on social media.
The content of Laal Singh Chaddha found no takers among young viewers. However, some trade experts said boycott calls made it worse given the power of social media and that many people fall for fake news. Others said the film would have held its own had it connected with audiences.
“Social media is the most powerful tool to influence people today and Hindi films are facing the direct impact of the boycott culture that’s here to stay," independent trade analyst Sreedhar Pillai said. Aamir Khan’s last film Thugs of Hindostan had made more than Rs48 crore on its first day of release in 2018. In comparison, Laal Singh Chaddha opened to ₹11.50 crore. Trade experts say the Hindutva brigade that targeted Khan for his seemingly anti-national remarks sourced from more than a decade ago has made an impact.
“Entertainment news is something that everyone is interested in. However, one also has to realize that word-of-mouth around these films is pretty mixed and a family of four will always wait for reviews when it has to spend ₹2,000 on a single outing," explained Pranav Garg, the managing director of Maya Palace, a two-screen cinema in Muzaffarnagar.
A film producer said on the condition of anonymity that there is a clear narrative playing out to target Hindi cinema.
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“A lot of people cannot distinguish between real and fake news branding actors and filmmakers as anti-national," the person said.
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