The past year, 2022 proved to be a rather tumultuous year for Bollywood with big-ticket entertainers underperforming at the box office, and the industry has been rattled. On the other hand, South films saw an increase in business with the audience across the country taking a liking to them. Bollywood Hungama recently caught up with veteran film distributor and G7 multiplex owner Manoj Desai to understand the reason behind this unsettling trend.
Speaking exclusively to Bollywood Hungama the veteran distributor explained, “If we want to run Bollywood like how it was before, like when the late Manmohan Desai or the late Yash Chopra used to run things, then we have to feature such successful films like they made. The content, the script, the dialogues, music, editing…everything has to come together to make a successful film.” In the same interview, Desai also opened up about the current scenario where theatres were damaged after certain factions called for a boycott. Continuing on the subject, he added, “There have been reports claiming that theatres have been damaged. It happened in Gujarat and some other state as well. I don’t want the same thing to happen here. So right from the start, we will take precautions. Yet from what I have been seeing, I believe this will not happen. The film (Pathaan) will work and it will do very good business. My executive has been updating me that there has been immense curiosity for the film and advance bookings. As for films in 2022, there were a lot of them that underperformed, while South films dubbed in Hindi worked wonders. Pushpa, KGF1, KGF 2, and RRR, went on to even win awards. So let’s see how the year goes, it should go well for Bollywood, and that’s why I say, Pathaan will work. If Bollywood films work, there will be a comeback.”
Later speaking about why South films have been doing so well, Desai revealed, “The thing is there is immense sincerity in making films there. A complete schedule is made on which day, which date, which month there will be a shoot and where the shoot will happen. All of these details are planned first and then executed, no matter what happens. Even if someone from the team - the sound person, editor, artist, or anyone falls ill, the shoot will continue. I remember, when I was shooting my film Khuda Gawah, Sridevi had a fever of a 102 but she did not miss a single date. That is because she knew if she missed a single date, Amit ji (Amitabh Bachchan) would also have issues with his dates, and I remember, at that time, the Bofors Case was on. Basically everyone, whether they were ill or not, worked. In the South it is the same. For example, Chiranjeevi was once very ill, but he did not miss a single date. Nagarjuna was in Khuda Gawah and he did not miss a single date.”
Concluding the topic, Manoj Desai reiterated that he does not mean to malign anyone saying, “See I do not mean to talk negative of Bollywood actors. I have managed 51 years, thanks to them, but the punctuality that there was, needs to be brought back.”