A new breed of young filmmakers, who are really passionate about filmmaking and who are always rushing around on the sets, has emerged recently. Know how they are responsible?
“Bollywood is over,” “Bollywood has lost its MoJo,” and “South has taken over North,” are some commonly used statements that are taking the rounds all over social media. The statements are a result of Hindi movies consistently underperforming at the box office over the past eight months, with Sooryavanshi and Gangubai standing out.
Is Content Deficiency to Blame for Major Movie Flops?
It is evident that the movies are failing miserably as the general public is not finding the movie content captivating enough and is not able to relate to the content.
Bollywood movies haven’t done well lately, with a number of blockbusters with mid-to high-budgets failing to leave much of an impression at the box office. Regional (Southern) movies have, nonetheless, been successful in drawing audiences to theatres.
Hindi cinema appears to be disengaged from its viewers, cynical about India, and dishonest towards the same art it seeks to advance. When asked to give an example of a narrow worldview, most people seem to think of the Hindi film industry. In terms of talent and vision, it appears to be paralysed. Non-Hindi films, notably those made in the Tamil, Telugu, and Kannada industries, demonstrate the complete failure of the Hindi film industry.
Statistical Differences Of The Hindi-Film Industry Pre And Post Pandemic
Bollywood has consistently been the mainstay of steadily increasing overall movie office profits. Prior to COVID, it used to account for 60% of all box office earnings. Bollywood movies had the highest box office receipts in 11 of the 16 pre-Covid quarters. However, the overall contribution has decreased dramatically in the post-pandemic period as Bollywood films have struggled to draw audiences to theaters.
Hindi movie makers found solace in remakes of South Asian movies. It was not the first time that it had happened, this has been going on for years. But at one point, South Asian directors themselves remade their popular movies in Hindi for a sure hit. To recreate a tried-and-true hit, Hindi filmmakers are walking down the same path. The main issue with modern cinematic writing is the lack of creative ideas and the necessary writing abilities in Hindi, the language in which the movie is produced.
The home-worn audiences eagerly awaiting to leave for the theatres preferred non-Hindi films over the outdated and underdeveloped offerings that the Hindi film industry had to offer. The tremendous box office success of movies like KGF: Chapter 2, Vikram, RRR, and Pushpa, as well as the love lavished upon 777 Charlie, Pawankhind, etc., demonstrate the same. Both technique and substance were lacking in the movies that the Hindi cinema industry created. This is largely due to the self-created cocoon that the Hindi film industry has created to protect itself from harsh realities.
What Ails Bollywood?
The problem with today’s makers is that they are disengaged and no longer relate to the customers they serve. It was said that movies were the “opium of the people.”
If you want to know what the general consensus is, you must continue to observe and interact with others. Once they become successful, many filmmakers disengage from the general public, and their films reflect this. They fail.
The numbers would have been bigger in pre-pandemic times than they are now, but the outcome would have remained the same. The industry needs to reflect and produce content that genuinely motivates viewers to see movies on a big screen rather than placing the blame on the pandemic and changes in audience preferences.
