Tigmanshu Dhulia on success of Total Dhamaal: Audience's taste deteriorating, trash films earn Rs 200 cr

A lot has been spoken about mid-budget films doing surprisingly well at the box office but filmmaker Tigmanshu Dhulia believes such cases should be considered as an exception as films with “trash and filth” still continue to make money.

The filmmaker, who has helmed acclaimed films like Paan Singh Tomar and the Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster franchise, says contrary to popular belief, the taste of the audiences has deteriorated.

“I’ve seen the taste of the audience has changed. Earlier, we used to make one film and it catered to everybody. Now certain films will only be seen by a certain kind of people. The taste of the general audience, including the middle class and the upper middle class has deteriorated drastically,” Tigmanshu told Press Trust of India.

Tigmanshu spoke about veteran Marathi filmmaker Dada Kondke and how his films did immensely well with the frontbenchers, the labour class. “No one from the respectable family used to go and watch those film.” he added.

“Now suddenly you see these Dhamaals and all these films, whose trailers itself have so much trash, filth, earn Rs. 200 crore . That means they are being watched by the multiplex audience,” he further added.

The director said the change in audiences’ liking is a reflection of the societal upheavals.

Last year, the Hindi film industry witnessed failures of all the top stars’ projects, from Race 3, Thugs of Hindostan to Zero, while content-driven cinema like Stree, Andhadhun and Badhai Ho scored big.

However, Tigmanshu thinks its too soon to jump to conclusion and say that times for film industry is changing.

Tigmanshu is gearing up for his upcoming film Milan Talkies , a film he has been planning to make since 2012. He says he is disappointed by looking at the box-office scores of films he does not consider good.

When asked if he is upset about the current situation of Hindi film industry, “My frustration is when I’m not able to make the kind of films I want to make. That’s the biggest frustration. I want to tell different stories but not in the same way. Hindi films stories are told in a certain way.

“The content is changing, but you still have to have a hero, a heroine, friends. The way the story is told, that screenplay needs to change.”

(With inputs from Press Trust of India)