A MUST READ : Stars, Lies, && Box-Office

I think this article is a MUST READ for any cine-goer that loves their bollywood movies! CAUTION: Its an article for ppl who love the art of cinema/movie and not for someone who blindly follows whatever their "favorite" star/actor is throwing at them!

Here's an article that brings in a well known actor/producer/and director's take to talk about how easily we as audiences are fooled these days thru tactics used by produces/actors/ and directors to declare a movie a hit which is w/o substance and /or a sense of logic of ANY kind

Here’s the article:

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Would you watch a movie if practically every hoarding in the town is proclaiming it as a phenomenal box-office hit; supporting it with endorsements from reputed trade-pundits. The truth is, most of us will.

Cine goers today are witnessing a sea of change in the face of films and their publicity. Gone are the days when audience decided a HIT by queuing up cinema halls to a House-full board. Today things have changed, with advance technologies and fancy statistics the box-office trade has gone murkier, which makes it easy to play around with figures to make a film HIT.

Are the stars cheating the audience by intentionally lying about the Box-Office numbers?

Quizzing some of the Bollywood insiders, we get the inside scoop on the truth behind box-office lies and overhyped stars.

[Kay Kay Menon] - I would like to mention that, it’s the audience which is to be blamed here. GOOD SUBJECTS WITH LOW-BUDGET BECOME THE PREY OF AUDIENCES' IGNORANT ATTITUDE. WHY?

Despite GETTING FOOLED BY THE SAME FILMAKERS who spend lavishly on promotion of the films with senseless subjects, audiences continue to watch such films. Indian cinema has a long way to go. Being a part of it, I FEEL VERY DISAPPOINTED TO SEE THE WAY OUR CINEMA IS HEADING.

I feel pity at the very thought that Indian films have BECOME A SOURCE OF MINT-MONEY. Definitely, business is an important aspect but the notion of nurturing good subjects has disappeared somewhere, WHICH HURTS MY CREATIVE SENSIBILITIES.

[Pritish Nandy]- Yes, it's VERY EASY TO CHEAT AUDIENCE WITH SUCH PAID ADVERTISEMENT, OR BYSIMPLY BUYING AIR TIME ON TV CHANNELS. Not just the producers and directors, even film stars to a certain extent DO CHEAT AUDIENCE WITH FABRICATED FIGURED, OVER HYPED REMUNERATIONS.

But at the same time, even film critics are not the best judge when it comes to the deciding factor of a film at the box-office. FOR EXAMPLE, Farhan Akhtar’s LUCK BY CHANCE GOT FOUR AND A HALF STARS IN ALL PUBLICATIONS, BUT IT WAS DECLARED A 'FLOP'.

Basically, people take the call on hit and flop. The business of the cinema or the net profit are decided when everyone makes money, especially the distributors and the producers. IT'S HIGH TIME THAT WE REALZE THAT WHATEVER WE SEE OR HEAR IN THE SHOWBIZ IS NOT CORRECT. THE ACTUAL FIGURED ARE FAR SCARIER AND NOT AS FAIRY-TLE, AS OTHERWISE POTRAYED.

[Imtiaz Ali] - Yes, I don’t know who is to be blamed but somehow, I agree that COLLECTIONS DO GET MISINTERPRETED AND FALSE CLAIMS ARE BEING MADE. I personally feel that it should be condemned, so that OUR AUDIENCES SHOULD NO LONGER BE KEPT IN DARK.

[Rajat Kapoor] - I believe OUR AUDIENCE IS WAY TOO IMMATURE WHEN IT COMES TO JUDGING A FILM.. Why can’t they get this thing straight that all that glitters is not gold?

I fail to understand that how can a 90 seconds lavishly churned out nonsensical promo persuade them to go for a movie. Despite each time they discover-they have wasted their hard-earned buck on such filthy films; again they fall in the trap of publicity stunts.

WEREN’T FILMS LIKE CC2C, WELCOME, SINGH IS KINGG ENOUGH TO DECIDE WHETHER ONE SHOULD GO FOR A FILM LIKE KAMBAKHT ISHQ? And to top it all DESPITE THE BAD REVIES PRODUCERS HAVE THE AUDACITY TO DECLARE IT A HIT AND FOOL THE AUDIENCE. It’s high time audience open their eyes and judge intelligently.

[Anant Mahadevan]- Well, the gross business figures of any film have nothing to do with the cine-goers because it involves distributor and exhibitors’ share.

However, the AUDIENCES DO GET MISLEAD BY THIS MARKETING GIMMICK. IF YOU GO TO COMPARE OUR AUDIENCE WITH THE INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCE; THE LATTER IS MUCH MORE SENSIBLE THAN FORMER.

International audience doesn’t go by the full-page advertisement on newspapers or the good or bad reviews. They gauge on their instincts and do the selection, unlike Indian audience who seldom do that.
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The main pic is that of KI and Sankat City.
Far better movie than KI & it does have a comedy portion in it that is SENSIBLE yet box-office isnt even speaking to the script of the movie.

Here's the poster of Rab ne Bana di Jodi and opposite it Main, Meri Patni, Aur woh!
Idk how many of you have seen the latter one but I suggest u see it now!...its on youtube & it is much more of a brilliant movie than rab ne ever was but because of srk's name worked and also the songs. Whose wife doesnt recognize her own husband without the mustache? Quiet a bizzare script which wud work only with a big star like him but it shud be quiet the opposite. A new comer would be expected to do a senseless movie like this to try to get his foot in the door. Billu Barber was a good movie up till the end.

These are just some examples of how good movies are far and in between and new tactics are used and fans/audiences follow it blindly.

So what do you all think of the article? DO u guyys think our cinema/audiences arent how they used to be? I know it was a lil long of an article but I think it holds for an interesting discussion!