R Balki claims ‘the rise and rise of Bollywood’ will happen soon, says people are storming the theatres for Brahmastra

R Balki was asked about Bollywood’s dry spell at the box office in a recent interview, when the filmmaker spoke about Brahmastra’s success in bringing people to the theatres. The Ayan Mukerji directorial released on September 9 and stars Ranbir Kapoor along with Alia Bhatt, Amitabh Bachchan, Nagarjuna and Mouni Roy. Recently, Ayan had shared via an Instagram post that Brahmastra had earned ₹225 crore worldwide in its opening weekend. Read more: Brahmastra box office collection explained

R Balki is busy with the promotion of his upcoming film Chup: Revenge of the Artist, which stars Sunny Deol, Pooja Bhatt, Dulquer Salmaan and Shreya Dhanwanthary. The film is slated to be released on September 23. While promoting his movie, the filmmaker was asked if the theory that ‘Bollywood is over’, which was being propelled by a section of people, was true. R Balki responded by saying that soon people will say ‘the rise and rise of Bollywood’ once films start doing well at the box office.

“It (the idea that Bollywood is over) is rubbish! It is a lovely theory to have, few flops flopped, and people love to write, fill columns and feed. It is entertainment and failures are also entertainment. When success happens, they will have entertainment again and say, ‘The rise and rise of Bollywood’, which will happen very soon,” R Balki told Indian Express.

The filmmaker added that Bollywood’s dry spell was ‘a phase’ and said that it will not last for too long. “Films flop, films don’t do well, it is a phase. That happens due to various reasons, but this won’t last for too long. As you are already seeing, people are storming the theatres (for Brahmastra). So, it will change. This is just another show,” R Balki said.

In a recent interview, filmmaker Rakesh Roshan also spoke about the failure of Bollywood films in recent times. He said filmmakers were picking subjects that appeal to a very small section of the audience. He had said that Bollywood filmmakers were trying to make ‘so-called modern cinema’. Rakesh had told Bollywood Hungama, “That (Hindi films not working at the box office) is because people are making films that they and their friends like to watch. They are picking subjects that appeal to a very minuscule section of the audience. A big chunk of the audience cannot relate to it.”