Bollywood actress Swara Bhasker reacts to the boycott trends against Bollywood. Describes the current situation of Hindi films with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.
Struggling Bollywood
Post-Pandemic, Bollywood films have been struggling in theatre. Films like Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha, Taapsee Pannu’s Dobaaraa, and Akshay Kumar’s Raksha Bandhan faced boycott trends on Twitter and later struggled at the ticket window.
In an interview with IndiaToday, Swara Bhasker was asked if the boycott trends bother her, and what she makes of it. Swara said that she doesn’t believe in celebrating anyone’s failure.
“There’s this whole trend on Twitter and on social media, they want to bring Bollywood down, they call it stupid names. I find it so petty, and also disgusting because I feel that these people in their blind hatred are forgetting that Bollywood gives a livelihood to many people. The reason is after the unfortunate and tragic suicide of Sushant, Bollywood has been painted as a really dark place, that is only about drugs and alcohol and sex.”
The actress also compared the condition of Bollywood with Rahul Gandhi and said, “I don’t know it’s kind of a strange comparison but I am reminded of Rahul Gandhi. Everyone kept calling him Pappu, so now everybody believes it. I have met him and he is a perfectly intelligent and articulate man. With Bollywood also, this ‘pappufication’ has happened.”
South vs North debate
On being asked about the North Vs South debate, Swara said, “I don’t like this kind of division. I think that, as artists, as an industry, if films do well at the box office, it’s good for everyone. I think it’s very silly and petty to divide and celebrate somebody’s failure or to feel jealous and envious of somebody else’s success. We must understand very simply that we are coming out of Covid. It is very devastating, especially for distributors and theater owners, and exhibitors.”
“People, when they talk about films, forget that it’s not only the actors. You can dislike an actor and go on about nepotism, but the film industry actually produces jobs. It’s giving jobs to people. So I don’t actually think that there is anything to celebrate if, a film fails,” she adds.
In a concluding message, she mentioned Laal Singh Chaddha’s failure at the box office, and elaborated, “When a film starring Aamir Khan flops, it is not just his film, there are many people who have worked on it. We should look at the bigger picture.”
Meanwhile, Swara Bhasker will soon be seen in the film Jahaan Chaar Yaar. Her last theatrical release was Veere Di Wedding. Jahaan Chaar Yaar stars Swara Bhasker, Shikha Talsania, Meher Vij and Pooja Chopra in lead roles. The film’s trailer was dropped on August 22. It will open in cinemas on September 16.
