Actor Manoj Bajpayee has stated that the triumph of films like Pushpa, RRR, and KGF Chapter 2 has scared and shocked Bollywood filmmakers, who must take a lesson from it.
Manoj Bajpayee’s take on Bollywood
Popular actor Manoj Bajpayee is the latest name from the Hindi belt to recognize how the success of films from the south film industry has influenced those in Bollywood. In a recent interaction, the actor claimed that the success of films like KGF Chapter 2, RRR, and Pushpa has “sent a shiver down the spine” of Bollywood filmmakers. The actor also described why these films were more successful than their Bollywood counterparts.
“Itni blockbuster ho rahi hai (there are so many blockbusters)… forget about Manoj Bajpayee and the likes of me for a minute, it has sent a shiver down the spine of all the mainstream filmmakers from the Mumbai film industry. They really don’t know where to look.”
The rise of the south film industry
After the pandemic, it was Allu Arjun’s Pushpa: The Rise that initiated the trend of south films dominating in the Hindi belt. The film’s Hindi-dubbed version grossed Rs 106 crore. Furthermore, SS Rajamouli’s RRR and Yash-starrer Kannada film KGF: Chapter 2 broke new records. The Hindi versions of both films have grossed over Rs 300 crore each and surprisingly they are still running in theatres. Many people claim that this Box Office tsunami has disturbed several people in Bollywood.
Manoj went on to explain why KGF 2 or RRR dubbed in Hindi made more than Rs 300 crore unlike big-budget Hindi films like Sooryavanshi which had struggled to even reach Rs 200 crore in India.
The actor said these films’ success has a lesson for Bollywood, one they need to learn quickly. “They are unapologetic, they are passionate, and every shot they take as if they are taking the best shot in the world…They shoot a film as they have imagined it, they don’t dumb it down for the audience because they hold their audience in the highest regard and their passion is supreme,” he said.
“If you see Pushpa or RRR or KGF, the making of these films is excellent. Each and every frame is actually shot in a manner as if it were a life and death situation. This is what we lack. We started thinking about mainstream films only in terms of money and box office. We can’t criticize ourselves. So we distinguish them by calling them ‘alag’ (different). But it’s a lesson. This is a lesson for Mumbai industry mainstream filmmakers on how to make mainstream cinema,” he adds.
