 "Sanjay Gupta on the success of Shah Rukh Khan's 'Jawan' and Sunny Deol's 'Gadar 2': 'Theatres will be empty again'")
With theatres in India recently basking in festive fervour generated by mega-blockbuster films like Jawan and Gadar 2, this has left behind the dry spell instigated by the pandemic years in cinemas. In a recent interview with ETimes, director Sanjay Gupta opened up about the ‘short-livedness’ of it all and the coping mechanism of theatres, once the crowd dies down again.
As a result of films like Pathaan , Gadar 2 and Jawan , the Kaabil director said there is a high risk that theatres will go back to being empty once the aura associated with these big-earning films wanes. He further added, “People will wait for the next big film to arrive.”
On Jawan and Gadar 2’s success
Sanjay Gupta reiterated that until medium or low-budget films don’t work, one cannot say audiences go to theatres. Talking about recent successes of Gadar 2 and Jawan, the filmmaker called them ‘big-budget films’ that took 2-3 years to make. Adding further perspective to the situation, he stated, “Theatres will be empty again after a couple of weeks, waiting for the next big film to arrive.”
The Jazbaa director further illustrated how all the big stars do only one film a year. But he can truly call on audiences to return to theatres when they back a ‘combination of films’ at the theatres.
Giving an example of Vivek Chauhan-directorial Baap starring Mithun Chakraborty, Sunny Deol, Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff, the director said when such a film is accepted at the box office, then he would believe that the audiences are back.
On audiences prefering to watch content at home
According to Sanjay Gupta, the audience supports large-scale films with prominent stars in the theatres. But, on the other hand, if the film is not big or without big names, people are ready to watch it on OTT platforms. He further elaborated on how Indians like ‘free ka maal or freebies.’ Although one pays for OTT subscriptions, in a sense, these things are entirely free. It is for this reason, he said that 95 per cent of movies are skipped by the general audience in theatres and instead watched at home. In addition, he termed the fete ‘chaar din ki chandni hai.’
Bollywood has witnessed back-to-back successes since July. With films such as Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, Anil Sharma’s Gadar 2, Amit Rai’s OMG 2 and Atlee’s Jawan, the Hindi film industry has come out of a dull phase.
Talking about Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Jawan, the film which released on 7 September, received the biggest Bollywood opening in history. Based on current market estimates, the action-thriller has now crossed the Rs 400-crore mark in India. While globally, it will soon cross the Rs 700-crore mark.
Work Front
Work-wise, Sanjay Gupta is known for gangster dramas like Kaante, Shootout at Lokhandwala, and Shootout at Wadala. The filmmaker is gearing up for his latest film, Visfot. The action thriller stars Riteish Deshmukh and it will also mark Fardeen Khan’s comeback after 13 years.
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