It is no state secret that the conversation around Indian films has moved from how many stars it received from critics to how much it made in its opening weekend. Box office collections, which used to be a niche figure, now dominate discourse for almost every film, and many filmmakers feel it is unfair in the absence of the proper context of a film’s investment, budget, and scale.
Recently, speaking with Hindustan Times, filmmakers Zoya Akhtar and Reema Kagti opened up about the increased focus on box-office collections and how it affects smaller, independent films. Referring to a few recent Indian indie films, Reema said, “When you see a Shape of Momo, Boong, or Sabar Bonda, you cannot compare them to the box office collections of big tentpole commercial films.” Most of these films were made on budgets under ₹5 crore and hence had break-even points much lower than those of mainstream Hindi films. Pointing out that discrepancy, Zoya added, “And if people do that, then what you need to do is give the context of the budget. You mention that you made it in this amount, and it earned this amount. Either you do that, or just talk about the quality of the movie.”
Reema adds that this context of box-office collections being seen in relation to the budget should hold true for even the big, tentpole films. “This holds true for any kind of film. The budget is relative to the box office. There are films being celebrated for grossing ₹200 crore. They are not telling you they spent ₹500 crore to make it,” she says, adding, “I believe that films are art. And art’s value cannot only be counted in terms of money.”
The emphasis on the box office
In the past, other members of the film fraternity have noted that box-office collections unfairly dominate conversations today. Last year, actor Manoj Bajpayee told HT, “It’s a monster that is created by the producers themselves, the commercial producers, for their own game. Very soon, this monster is going to eat you up. You have created Bhasmasura. Just wait for the day you are going to put your hand on your own head, and you will be ruined. This has been created by our own successful people, and one day it will eat them up.”
Conversely, Telugu star Ram Charan told ANI last week, “Good box office is related to the next film. You have the scope to experiment more. So numbers (box office) are important, but it’s not the only thing.”
Zoya and Reema’s Shape of Momo
Zoya, Reema, and Payal Kapadia recently backed Sikkimese filmmaker Tribeny Rai’s debut feature film, Shape of Momo. The Nepali-language film released last week in theatres.