Rakesh Roshan reveals why Bollywood movies aren’t working: ‘People are making films that their friends like to watch’

Rakesh Roshan said that a ‘big chunk of the audience’ is no longer able to connect to the subjects picked by filmmakers. The veteran actor and filmmaker, who celebrated his 73rd birthday on Tuesday, spoke about why Bollywood films were not working at the box office, in a recent interview. Rakesh Roshan also opened up about how songs had taken a backseat in movies and as a result ‘becoming a superstar’ was very difficult today. Read more: The Kashmir Files’ Pallavi Joshi says Bollywood films aren’t working as ‘India’s problems don’t feature in them anymore’

Rakesh, who has directed hit films like Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai (2000) and Koi… Mil Gaya (2003), which also featured his son, actor Hrithik Roshan, spoke about songs being an integral part of movies. He also said Bollywood should learn from ‘Pushpa or RRR’ as ‘each and every song’ from the pan-India films ‘became a craze’. He added that Bollywood filmmakers were trying to make ‘so-called modern cinema’ but it works with ‘only one percent of the population’.

Rakesh 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. Another major problem is that the songs are going out of the film… Earlier, there used to be 6 songs. These songs would help the actors turn into superstars… becoming a superstar is very difficult at present. You see the songs of Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna… Their songs used to be such an integral part of the movie and they played a huge role in making their film a super-duper hit. Take Pushpa or RRR for example. Each and every song became a craze. So, we should learn (from their success).”

Rakesh also said that unlike Hindi movies, Telugu and Tamil films were still sticking to ‘rooted stories’ and presenting them in a ‘very upgraded way’, keeping in mind the ‘commercial sensibilities’. He said that although RRR and Baahubali had ‘beaten-to-death stories’, and Baahubali was very similar to his 1995 film Karan Arjun, these films had songs that were ‘larger-than-life’ and hence ‘people were enticed’.

Rakesh also spoke about how earlier film promotions ‘started with songs’ and then the trailer was released. The filmmaker added that the multi-city and hectic promotions of recent films ‘served no purpose’. He said there was ‘no point’ doing it, and called it ‘wasting money’. He added that if a film’s trailer or teaser hadn’t worked, then ‘such promotional tours were unnecessary’. Rakesh also spoke about Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, which was also heavily promoted, yet worked at the box office.