In light of underperforming Hindi films at the box office, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson Dr Syed Zafar Islam suggested that Bollywood stars reduce their fee so that producers can focus on good cinema.
He tweeted that the film industry needs to realise that OTT platforms are more cost-effective and better suited to the needs of people now.
“Bollywood stars haven’t understood the Gr reality despite flops aft flops.If stars starts charging reasonable fee, producers can focus on good cinema of national interest.Remember OTT is a better n cost effective options available to people,” said Islam.
Bollywood, the world’s biggest film industry by the number of movies produced globally every year, is struggling to recover following two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was anticipated that following the COVID-19 pandemic, there would be a rush to theatres for Bollywood movies, but the reality is that crores of rupees have been lost in revenue. Some attribute the decline to OTTs, others believe it’s due to the change in moviegoers’ spending patterns.
In the first half of 2022, over 15 out of 20 notable Hindi films have failed at the box office.
The list includes projects featuring some of India’s biggest stars, such as Aamir Khan’s ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’, Akshay Kumar’s ‘Raksha Bandhan’, ‘Samrat Prithviraj’ and ‘Bachchhan Paandey’, Ranveer Singh’s ’83’ and ‘Jayeshbhai Jordaar’, Ranbir Kapoor’s ‘Shamshera’, and Kangana Ranaut’s ‘Dhaakad’.
A bright spot in this gloomy climate is the impressive performance of films such as ‘KGF: Chapter 2’, ‘RRR’, and ‘Pushpa’ produced in the southern part of the country.
It has traditionally been the case that films made in the south do well in their respective regions. These films, however, are now faring exceptionally well in the Hindi heartland.
