| Bollywood… dead? This animal has just about started raging First of all, please pardon my excitement. Second of all, you have to stop and see just why I am so psyched. You see, Animal, too, is headed towards the ₹500-crore mark at the India box office. Naysayers, I hope you’re practising your radio silence because Dunki and Salaar: Part 1 – Ceasefire release in a week. And going by the way Pathaan and Jawan have unleashed their magic in the hearts of us cinemagoers this year, this should only be a foregone conclusion. I’ve said it often, and I repeat — films are part of our DNA. We love stories, yaar. We love dance and music. We love festivals and getting together to witness spectacles. How can a pandemic, or the rise of companion medium such as OTT, make it lose its sheen? Sell that logic to Elon Musk (because he buys everything). Earlier this year, after Pathaan set the tone with a Sehwag-like blitz at the top (₹1,000 crore+ worldwide), ‘Thalaivaa’ Rajinikanth’s Jailer smashed the prison gates as it racked up ₹650 crore at the global box office. In August, in line with the Independence Day spirit, Gadar 2 came along and pushed way past to end up justttttt short of the ₹700-crore mark. I need not remind you what Jawan managed after that: eleven hundred thousand crore rupees at the global box office — at an average ticket price of ₹120, nine crore six hundred sixty-six thousand six hundred sixty-six people watched the film in theatres. I’m no mutual fund advisor but let me give you a disclaimer, too: it’s a give-or-take figure, kyunki kuch ne multiple times bhi toh dekhi hogi! :)  It’s true that the pandemic did lull the Hindi film industry into a bit of a nap after the lockdowns left theatres vacant. I believe it was destined to take place — so that regional industries could show us their might. RRR (2022), which brought home Oscar glory, minted north of ₹1,300 crore worldwide. After a rollicking stint at the box office in 2018, the KGF franchise stayed in the ₹1,100-crore orbit with the second film. At a time like that, a slumbering Bollywood was pronounced dead — and being not only the biggest cinema aficionado but also someone who interacts with people from the industry on a daily basis — it honestly broke my heart. Aisa kya chahiye audiences ko, I wondered. Today, my dear devis and sajjans, Animal — the film that’s all over the pop discourse and Instagram Reels — has just careened past the ₹700-crore mark at the global BO. It has also become the highest grosser of all times among A-rated Indian films. Ranbir Kapoor is back in form, Bobby — the other Deol — has attained staggering popularity, and a relatively lesser-known actor has been catapulted into the popular imagination, seemingly from nowhere. The other day, Samarth in my team texted me out of the blue, asking me if he should sell the oldest superhero figurine in his collection to fund his own mockumentary. Well, Sam, if Sandeep Reddy Vanga can part with 36 acres of his ancestral land to get Arjun Reddy rolling, what’s stopping you, my man? |
