In India TV’s ‘The Filmy Hustle’ podcast, Vishek Chauhan, CEO of Rupbani Cinema in Bihar, talked about Bollywood films. He also explained why animated films are not working according to expectations in India.
Bollywood films have been struggling at the box office for the past few years and are being criticised for their superficial stories. The business of Bollywood films is now limited to brands only and this is creating a situation of the weevil being ground along with the wheat. Industry experts expressed their opinion on this bad phase of Bollywood in India TV’s special podcast ‘The Filmy Hustle’. This program was hosted by Akkshay Rathie, and experts like Vishek Chauhan, Devang Sampat, and Amit Sharma voiced out their opinions. In this conversation, Vishek Chauhan explained why animated films are not working in India. Not only this, he also shed light on why certain Hollywood films’ plots, which would never have worked if made in Bollywood, are earning huge amounts of money in India.
What did Vishek Chauhan say?
Vishek Chauhan, while talking to Akkshay Rathie at The Hustle Podcast, explained why animated films are not working in Bollywood. ‘Bollywood is a place where the audience is not the same. There are many types of audiences here, and different types of stories work. If we look at Hollywood, animated films are very successful. But this is not the case in Bollywood. One reason behind this is that people have this perception in their minds that animated films are for children. But it is not so, animated films can also be watched with the family,’ the CEO of Rupbani Cinema said. He also added that it is very strange that films like Oppenheimer have earned well in India. Not only this, but Barbie also made a lot of headlines in India.
Does the game of perception spoil the numbers?
Vishek Chauhan said ‘Now things are changing. Because when people’s perception is set, its effect is seen. But I think that now changes will be seen with time. Because we now have data and we can calculate the business afresh. The science behind it is slowly making its place. Now we can see our viewership. Like, if there is a film which has been watched 10 crore times. But now we can see from which people watched it and why. What were the reasons that a film has done well in a particular area?
Decline in cinema halls
Vishek also spoke about cinema halls and their downfall. ‘Cinema should be connected to the people. On the digital platform, you can present content by targeting a group, but there should be unity in the cinema. So that people of every group understand it and feel connected. The content shown in cinemas should reach even the person with the lowest economic background. Only then will cinema get the success it is looking for,’ Vishek said.
He further said, ‘When I went to Bihar in 2009, there were more than 100 cinema halls in my area, but now this number has come down to 8. It is not that people have stopped watching movies, but you have to bring content that draws people to the cinema halls.’
Also Read: The Filmy Hustle Exclusive: Why is the craze for Bollywood films fading? Vishek Chauhan explains
