Films and stars fail to deliver: A dismal year 2022

It is the time of the year to look back on the one gone by, 2022. A great deal of hopes were riding on 2022 after the disastrous pandemic-hit two years - 2020 and 2021.

The countrywide lockdowns of all activities, be they personal or commercial, brought the world to a standstill. Like all others, the entertainment industry also came to a stop. No shootings for films or television, no film releases, no television serials or stage shows. Just nothing.

Things started to ease midway through 2021 with a hiccup here and there. Businesses and the entertainment industry as well were opening up gradually with controls being eased. It was a phased process, but it offered hope. Just when the first total lockdown came into effect, people missing out on cinema and television took to the OTT platforms. The lockdown worked wonders for OTT.

The film industry, which considered even a circus in town as an opposition, and later learnt to brave the onset of television, video piracy and CDs, now had the OTT platforms to contend with. Because OTT did not depend entirely on filmmakers for content; it also created its own. The OTT platforms made people also realize that subscribing to them made much more economic sense than a single visit to a multiplex. This, besides the realization that what hits a cinema today is bound to surface on the OTT platform in a matter of weeks.

The cinemas tried to wean their audience back with gimmicks such as the National Cinema Day, when all tickets were sold for Rs 75. But these were stopgap measures. The biggest Hindi films were failing. Bigger the film, louder the thud. No actor could draw the initial viewers. For the Hindi film industry, the year was an unmitigated disaster.

Just three films had managed to sail safe and earn profits. 'Bhool Bhulaiya 2', 'Drishyam 2' and 'The Kashmir Files' were the ones. 'Drishyam 2' and 'Bhool Bhulaiya 2' were sequels to successful films, so both got the benefit. 'The Kashmir Files' was an unconventional film, not a commercial one.

For Hindi films and its biggest stars, the days of Rs 200 crore and 300 crore are a thing of the past and not likely to happen any time soon. Who is to be blamed? The makers as well as the stars. The makers, for taking their audience for granted and dishing out unpalatable and least entertaining films - utter rubbish. The stars are known to accept any and every project with money being the only consideration. And just about every big actor, moreover, is overexposing him/herself spread across every media and on television ads.

Akshay Kumar had four releases - 'Bachchhan Pandey', 'Ram Setu', 'Raksha Bandhan' and 'Samrat Prithviraj'. None worked. Ranbir Kapoor did two high-end films, 'Shamshera' and 'Brahmastra'; both disappointed. Ranveer Singh seems to be closer to the end of his run, having delivered duds like 'Jayeshbhai Jordaar' and 'Cirkus', making it a hat-trick of flops with his last year's release, '83'.

Shah Rukh Khan had a guest role in 'Rocketry' to account for this year; his major new film, 'Pathaan', is due later this month. Salman Khan had no release this past year. The Hindi superstars and stars have all failed. Aamir Khan's solo release, 'Laal Singh Chaddha', was a disaster. Shahid Kapoor had one release, 'Jersey', which was again a failure.

Kartik Aryan's career would seem to be on the rise after 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2'. Tiger Shroff has been the victim of sequels where the makers just want to exploit his action proficiency. Among female actors, Kriti Shanon was the most in demand along with Kiara Advani. Others offered little competition

The cinemas are now surviving on the flow of Hollywood films and dubbed South Indian films. The Hindi film industry has been delivering only duds. Hindi stars hold a grudge against the South-dubbed films capturing the Hindi-belt audience. Ajay Devgn even aired his resentment openly. He should understand that the South took over the Hindi audience when Hindi filmmakers and stars failed to deliver. And Devgn's own major hits are South remakes (which includes his latest success, 'Drishyam2')!

Why begrudge only South films, even Hollywood films are dubbed in various Indian languages and nobody has ever questioned that! And the truth is that television and OTT platforms today boast of bigger stars with bigger fan bases than the Hindi film industry stars! IANS

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