“They still want to see superheroes, want to see Pushpa, want to see Kantara.” Says Vikram Bhatt about why Bollywood movies falling flat at the box office!

The debate around South cinema excelling ahead of Bollywood has been making the rounds for a while now. Rightfully so, with quality content-driven films like Kantara, Pushpa, and others, South cinema has been consistently delivering what the audience wants to see. On the other hand, Bollywood seems to be struggling to hit the right chord. Shedding light on this aspect, filmmaker Vikram Bhatt offered some suggestions to help the industry course-correct its path, emphasizing the need to cater to the masses.

“Everyone forgot the masses and went to niche films. And during COVID, the audience’s habit of watching films in theatres disappeared. We stopped making massy films. If you see the South industry, it’s flourishing because it always prioritises the mass audience. They still want to see superheroes, want to see Pushpa, want to see Kantara. They still consider the villain a villain, still whistle and clap. Hum toh waisi films banana bhul gaye jise dekhkar audience seeti aur taaliya bajaye (We forgot how to make films which make the audience whistle and clap),” 

Vikram Bhatt further added about the “urgency” element while making movies, saying, “We have to make films in which there is urgency. I have learnt it recently only when my film Tumko Meri Kasam did not work. It got very good reviews. But it didn’t work because it was not an urgency film. So, we will have to make films which has sense of urgency… Films should be made in such a way that people eagerly wait for the first day first show,”.

While speaking about giving due attention to “content” rather than more importance to “star cast”, the filmmaker said, “This whole problem can be solved in a minute if music companies, digital and satellite companies start giving this message that we need good songs, we need good pictures. If you support a good movie, not a star cast, then the producer will not be burdened,”.

In an interview, Vikram Bhatt threw more light on the same. “I think there are no seetiyan-taaliyan because we’re not writing that way. If the hero isn’t introduced in good old fashion, why would anyone whistle? If there is first, the shot of his feet, then a shot of him lighting up a cigarette, then the goggles, then there’ll be whistles. But if he just enters his office and sits down, then there’ll be no whistles. This is the reality,” said Vikram.

Vikram Bhatt’s next directorial venture is the horror film Haunted 3D: Ghosts of the Past, featuring Mahaakshay Chakraborty and Chetna Pandey in the lead roles.