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The Indian film fraternity is basking in a triumphant resurgence, as the weekend of August 11-13 witnessed an unprecedented accomplishment. With simultaneous releases of four films — Hindi offerings Gadar 2 and OMG 2, Tamil spectacle Jailer and Telugu sensation Bholaa Shankar — the box office attained an extraordinary collection of ₹360 crore, the highest recorded weekend collection in the last 100 years.
Wait, there’s more! This spectacle also united more than 2.10 crore moviegoers and brought them back into theatres, solidifying itself as the most attended weekend in the last decade.
Marking this historic event for India cinema, the Producers Guild of India and Multiplex Association of India also issued a statement and announced this weekend as the busiest single weekend post re-opening, setting an all-time theatrical Gross Box Office record.
Talking to us exclusively, Shibasish Sarkar, President, Producers Guild of India, says, “It’s a good sign that people are willing to come back to cinema in large numbers if the content is for the theatre screen. And all these four films were meant for theatrical experience and that’s why audience came back. What resulted in this record being broken is that we had a release this big in all major languages — Hindi, Tamil and Telugu. ”
As the celebrations continue, trade expert Atul Mohan notes that all these four releases are mass entertainers, and as them breaking records prove what Indian audiences want. “This achievement is too big in itself and was much needed, especially in the post Covid-19 pandemic, to give audience a boost that cinema is here to stay and Indian film industry is capable of making good entertaining movies. Indian cinema hi mass cinema hai,” he asserts.
While Mohan credits a festive weekend like Independence Day for such big numbers, he points out that what made this weekend special was the fact that four films, that are very different from each other were released together. “While Jailer, Bholaa Shankar covered the southern belt, both the sequels found their audience in North, giving something to all kinds of audience,” he adds.
Among all other records, this weekend also broke the notion that films only big-banner releases or those starring the Khans would do magic at the office. It’s important to note that while Deol was returning to the big screen after a while, Kumar had a string of films that didn’t at the box office.
Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar reasons that it’s the people sentiments that are attached to films like Gadar which resulted in this response we witness. “After years, I saw as many people waiting outside the theatres as inside. It was a celebration of Indian cinema. I saw tickets being blacked. That’s a great example of how if content driven cinema combined with entertainment is offered, people will throng theatres.”
Calling it a “historic weekend”, director Anees Bazmee stresses that mass entertainers will continue to charm audiences. “For a long time, film industry was focussing on making films for niche audience. But I don’t think that necessarily qualifies to be a good film. Ek acchi aur badi film woh hai jo har tarah ki audience ko pasand aae. I never understood this concept especially when it comes to theatrical releases. It’s good to see filmmakers catering to the needs of audience with films like Gadar 2, OMG 2, Jailer and Bholaa Shankar. And I have same hopes with Jawaan and Animal.”
Producer Anand Pandit also is overwhelmed with huge footfall and calls it “the silver lining every filmmaker in the film industry has been waiting for”. He adds, “I’ve always believed in our audiences and that they will throng the theatres when the content is right. Now that is the right content and every filmmaker has to understand it. The Indian audiences are emotional. They go to the theatres as a family outing. They want clean entertainment and they got it in the form of these four movies.”
At this point, producer Ramesh Taurani urges that makers should not look at clashes as threats. “These four films collectively doing wonders show that the box office capacity of India movies is more than what we think. They all released on the same day (August 11), are performing well and breaking records. If a producer is sure their content is strong, they shouldn’t panic if there is a clash with another movie.”
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