Film maker Anurag Kashyap India’s theater ecosystem has come under fire for dumping unsuccessful Hindi films in recent releases like ‘Bandar’ and Imtiaz Ali’s ‘Main Vaapas Aaunga’ in terms of screen count and running time, while Hollywood releases like ‘Obsession’ continue to perform significantly better. In a recent candid interview, Kashyap argued that the industry’s fixation on event films, citing Ranveer Singh starrer ‘Dhurandhar’ as the rare blockbuster that justifies the model and an ‘event film’, is creating a self-defeating cycle where only expensive films are made, word of mouth for smaller films is never allowed to build and consume instead of OTT audiences. Kashyap also recalled the time of fellow filmmakers Rajkumar Hirini, Aamir Khan and Siddharth Roy Kapur personally intervened to ensure that his 2014 film ‘Ugly’ along with ‘PK’ got three screenings and lamented that this partnership no longer exists.
‘I get angry’: Anurag Kashyap on fans who loved his films, OTT, never in theatres
In an interview with HT City, Kashyap begins with a familiar frustration that he has stopped trying to thwart.“I get angry, I get angry, because people keep coming up to me and talking about how they love this movie and that movie. I often ask them, ‘Where did you see it?’ and no one has seen it in cinemas. I’m quite used to it,” he says.
“When PK execs made way for ‘Ugly’: ‘Those days are gone'”
As Kashyap recalls, there was a brief window when the industry operated differently, with filmmakers’ solidarity and a shared belief in cinema as a collective endeavor transcending mere commercial gain.Narrating that his 2014 film ‘Ugly’ was released alongside Rajkumar Hirani and Aamir Khan’s ‘PK’, Kashyap shared a story far removed from today’s theatrical reality.Kashyap recalls, “Ugly released in France before India. It came out on Blu-ray and then got into pirate sites, so we had to bring the release back home. At that time, PK was doing so many shows in theaters. I called Siddharth Roy Kapur, Ronnie Screwvala and Raju Hirani, and we released our film, eventually we got three films out. That.”Kashyap concludes, “That time is gone now. I can understand that the theater business is a business. Right now they want to make money, and Obsession is working. But my point is, Obsession can still survive with fewer shows. It will work with five shows, people will still watch it. If not today, they will watch it tomorrow.”
“Theatre owners don’t let word of mouth build”: Kashyap on the broken theater model
In the same interview, Kashyap argued how Indian exhibition chains are making decisions that harm not just individual films but the long-term health of the industry as a whole.“Films should have proper broadcasts so that people can see them, giving them the opportunity to build word of mouth. The fact is that theater owners do not allow word of mouth to build. Then the problem is that there is an audience that does not see these films and they are getting used to watching them on OTT,” he opined.Kashyap continued, “If you are building an audience only for event films, only those films will be made. They are so expensive, and the hit-and-miss ratio is high. For every Dhurandhar there will be five expensive films that will bomb. These films are not that expensive and word of mouth has to build.”
‘Bandar’s night performances were full, but who will watch at 09:00?’ : Kashyap in his recently released film
Kashyap shared his frustration with the contrast between his two films currently in theaters and how the bad timing of the shows affects the psychology of the audience very differently depending on the nature of the film. He recounted booking a ticket for ‘Main Vaapas Aaunga’ on a Saturday, only to find only one early morning show.“There was only one screening. Now it has become three screenings at the nearby cinema. But then it was a single screening early in the morning. We went to see the film at 9:40 in the morning. Word of mouth is not allowed. Slowly people give in, ‘OK, it’s an inconvenient time and we’ll see Kashyap.’The filmmaker continued, “Bandar’s night shows were packed. But who will go to see it at 9:00 when it will piss you off for the rest of the day! There is human psychology involved. If I watch my film, the rest of my day will be ruined. The main Vaapas Aaunga is not like Bandar, he should have more shows. The film is very good, it is still moving. Please understand for Bandar.“
More about ‘Bandar’
Directed by Anurag Kashyap, ‘Bandar’ (released internationally as ‘Monkey in a Cage’) is a dark and gritty crime thriller and legal drama inspired by real-life incidents. Written by Sudip Sharma and Abhishek Banerjee, the adult-rated film features Bobby Deol in the lead role alongside a stellar cast including Saba Azad, Sapna Pabbi and Sanya Malhotra. True to Kashyap’s signature style, the narrative delves into heavy contemporary issues such as false accusations and the toxic nature of social media trials. While Bandar got a lot of critical momentum after its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), the film has managed to collect Rs. 4.04 crore at the box office for Day 11, according to Sacnilk.
