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Reviews hamper films at the box-office
Motion Pictures Association wants to set the media straight
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Ronjita Kulkarni
The Association of Motion Pictures and Television Programme Producers (AMPTPP) has decided to take action against the media. They claim the latter ruins box-office prospects of films through reviews.
According to AMPTPP spokesperson Anil Nagrath, reviewers take 'vicious delight' in tearing films apart. "In any other trade, the product is first introduced in the market, tried and then purchased if it is good. But films are judged before they even enter the market. Reviewers aim at killing the film. The producer is buried neck deep under the sand and is then pelted at. That is not fair. Reviewers find fault with everything --- performances, music, direction, etc."
Nagrath elaborates, "Earlier, 60 per cent [of the collections] came from theatre rentals. Nowadays with the rise in multiplexes, rentals have dropped to 10 per cent. In this case, even if a film records 40 per cent collections, it is a hit."
Box-office expert Indu Mirani contends that reviews cannot make or break a film. Only a fraction of the audience watches films after reading reviews. "You cannot underestimate the audience. They get a feel of the film through promotions and decide if they want to watch the film or not. Reviews are just a guide. They make no difference on a large scale."
In fact, in some cases, a film may get good reviews but bad collections. Take Rajkumar Santoshi's The Legend Of Bhagat Singh where, though the film won critical acclaim, the film did not fare well. Vikram Bhatt's Raaz received average reviews, but is so far the biggest hit of 2002. Bhatt's Awara Paagal Deewana too received poor reviews, but the film is doing very well.
The AMPTPP's statement has invoked mixed reactions from the industry. Says Aankhen director Vipul Amrutlal Shah, "Reviews do not determine the box-office status of a film. Unless they are vindictive and unfair, I do not mind reviews. What I do not like is when mediapersons rate films even before they are released. Columnists and popular journalists like Shobha De write reviews much before films release --- I object to that."
Says director Hansal Mehta (Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar), "Reviews have lost their credibility and are now a joke. They are merely a personal opinion and do not affect the box-office."
While filmmakers agree that reviews do not determine the box-office status of a film, they claim that film speculations should be done away with. "The media should not speculate about a film's future. Some trade magazines have a box which predicts the future of soon-to-be-released films. That is not right. This might have disturbed the Association," says Mehta.
Several filmmakers also voice their opinions against the media. Shah says, "The media has this habit of choosing a handful of people and hyping them. Take Hrithik Roshan and Abhishek Bachchan. They were hyped so much when they entered the industry. Now, they are being torn apart. The media tore apart my film Aankhen when it released. But it picked up collections by its third week, and was declared a hit in its fifth week. Now they [the media] are taking back their words."
Mehta adds, "No film critic is impartial. They are prejudiced --- reviews have to be impartial and unbiased. You need to judge a film according to its genre, and analyse it within its parameters. These people are not qualified to review films."
States Mirani, "The AMPTPP should come down on filmmakers and stop them from making bad films, instead of making the media a scapegoat. They should focus on star performances and the content of the films."
Mehta agrees with Mirani. "In our attempt to promote a film's music, we convey the wrong impression. Our songs are well-picturised, but sometimes, the film often does not match up to its songs. Thus, the audience is disappointed. I admit the quality of [Hindi] films is poor these days. The Association is now trying to nail the reason behind the poor performance of films at the BO. But they are not making the media a scapegoat."
While Nagrath accepts that reviews cannot be stopped, he states that action has to be taken. "We are holding meetings to decide our next course of action."