Bollywood: Why success for smaller films is becoming increasingly difficult

Three all-time blockbusters have emerged as the highlights of Bollywood’s commercial performance this year. Siddharth Anand’s action thriller Pathaan was a phenomenal success. Anil Sharma’s period drama Gadar 2 was a reminder that Sunny Deol’s appeal as Tara Singh, who first appeared in its prequel Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001), hadn’t declined. Atlee’s action thriller Jawan, the second Shah Rukh Khan starrer after Pathaan, continues to attract crowds in significant numbers. Will Jawan become the biggest blockbuster of SRK’s hit-studded career? That is possible - while filmgoers wait for the release of Rajkumar Hirani’s Dunki later this year. The small-budget surprise The biggest surprise, however, is Sudipto Sen’s hard-hitting and controversial small-budget social drama The Kerala Story. A section of the audience criticised the film’s focus on forced conversion and radicalisation of women, but the rest appreciated its choice of theme. That worked. The Kerala Story is a rare phenomenon, just like Vivek Agnihotri’s small-budget social drama The Kashmir Files, a runaway success last year. Why more big films work Films headlined by big stars have emerged as the biggest beneficiary of the change in viewer’s mood. However, many relatively small films have suffered. The media is more interested in talking about big projects before their release – occasionally because big stars can be reached with more ease during that period. The average viewer wants pre-release information on such films. More news creates more hype, resulting in more curiosity. A lot happens on the Internet, an important marketing tool that also does a lot of free promotion by thousands of fans of big stars on social media. And, why more small films fail Because of the viewer’s inclination towards enjoying larger-than-life experiences in the cinemas, chances of a smaller film’s failure have increased. Recent failures includes Sudhir Mishra’s social drama Afwaah, a timely and well-made film about how misinformation that spreads like wildfire through social media can impact the lives of individuals. Afwaah, which means rumour, tanked. Anubhav Sinha’s incisive social drama Bheed about the plight of migrant workers during the Covid-19 lockdown also failed. A poignant portrayal of the unprivileged modern-day working class, Nandita Das’s Zwigato impressed critics without being able to attract many viewers. R Balki’s sports drama Ghoomer, a story of resilience, hope and determination revolving around a promising Indian girl cricketer who loses her arm in an accident before she can debut for the national team, faded away — quietly. In Anurag Kashyap’s musical romance Almost Pyaar with DJ Mohabbat, the director explores the nuances of modern-day relationships with two parallel stories and touches upon subjects like homophobia, love jihad and patriarchy. It was a box office bomb with reported collections of Rs 25 lakh! Vishal Bhardwaj’s son Aasmaan Bhardwaj’s Kuttey, a twisted thriller revolving around a motley crew of characters in the pursuit of a huge amount of money inside a van, flopped too. Ticket prices and OTT films While typically mid-size commercial films such as Laxman Utekar’s family drama Zara Hatke Zara Bachke and Raaj Shandilyaa’s Dream Girl 2 have been successful, part of the problem for smaller films is because of the modern-day viewer’s access to OTT platforms where one can watch new direct-to-digital releases. Netflix subscribers have benefited from the direct-to-digital release of Shantanu Bagchi’s spy thriller Mission Majnu. Along with Mission Majnu, Tejas Deoskar’s social comedy Chhatriwali dealing with subjects like safe sex and contraceptives started streaming on Zee5 on January 20 this year. Rahul V Chittella’s excellent family drama Gulmohar, which would have been once classified as a ‘multiplex film’ like several OTT other films, became available on Disney+ Hotstar later. Among several other direct-to-digital releases was Pavan Kirpalani’s Disney+ Hotstar Gaslight, a murder mystery with a disappointingly weak screenplay. Nitesh Tiwari’s Bawaal, a romantic drama that failed to justify the credentials of the man who had helmed the much-acclaimed drama Dangal, started streaming on Amazon Prime. Although not every direct-to-digital release is a good one, in other words, any new film on an OTT platform which can be watched without paying for a ticket is a temptation for sure. Besides, ticket prices are such that viewers with budgetary limitations who are passionate about commercial Hindi films are forced to make a choice. Whenever that happens, a film with a big star usually wins the race. Few would have imagined at the start of the year that Bollywood would deliver a handful of profitable films, including as many as three all-time blockbusters, in the months to follow. That has happened, and more potential successes will hit the marquee in the coming months. At the same time, recent trends show that chances of a small film’s success have lessened. And, that won’t change until watching more films in the cinemas becomes affordable. The writer, a journalist for three decades, writes on literature and pop culture. Among his books are ‘MSD: The Man, The Leader’, the bestselling biography of former Indian captain MS Dhoni, and the ‘Hall of Fame’ series of film star biographies. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .