Tag: Khans of Bollywood

Why Khan Market Is Losing Business

By Kunal Bose

The three Khans of Bollywood, who incidentally are of identical age soon to step into their sixties are no longer a guarantee of box office success. Featured in a number of successful films in terms of revenues and profits but only occasionally for cinematic excellence over many years, they to their mortification are finding, whatever their fan base, that the Khans being in lead roles will not ensure the cash register ringing.

Think of the kind of losses the financers will have to incur if a Khan film fails to draw the crowd to theatres, considering the enormity of budget. The bratty Salman Khan, who has made it a practice to take off his shirt at the slightest provocation on the screen and indulge in unworldly heroics, must be greatly distressed that his Eid release Sikander has failed to pull the public to the surviving single screen cinema halls and multiplexes, no longer confined to big cities.

Reviews of the film in English and regional language newspapers, one without exception were highly critical of everything about Sikander from the story to direction to acting. What a comedown from Salman’s Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015 release), which at well over ₹900 crore was among the highest all-time grossers of Bollywood films. But Salman is not alone in the hot spot. Aamir Khan, who is said to be very selective in choosing films and a perfectionist in whatever he does, had had a major disappointment with Thugs of Hindostan (2018) and Laal Singh Chadda the following year. The two films bombed at the box office putting an end to the myth that the large army of Aamir loyalists will ever underpin the success of any Aamir film outing.

He may be King Khan, arguably with a net worth well ahead of other Bollywood stars, but Shah Rukh Khan too had many occasions to bite the dust with a number of his films not finding favour with the public. Among the SRK films that bombed at the box office are Jab Harry Met Sejal, Zero, Dear Zindagi, Fan, Asoka, Guddu, English Babu Desi Mem and Swades. He will always look back with disappointment at the long list of his films rejected by the public.

The Khans are largely passe after dominating the screen for over three decades. To once again become relevant, they will have to rediscover themselves and do roles conforming to their age. Bollywood big stars, directors and producers will do themselves a service by recognising that the audience has matured and they want film stories relatable to their milieu. Not the Khans alone, the other big Bollywood stars had to eat humble pie more often than in recent years with their film releases meeting with poor box office collections, falling way short of production the cost.

There are occasions when thin turnout of viewers will force multiplexes to withdraw films within days of their release. Referring to the disappointing performance of the Hindi film industry, a spokesperson for Ormax Media says: “The industry experienced a 13 per cent fall in 2024 box office revenue to ₹4,679 crore from the previous year’s ₹5,380 crore.” This doesn’t tell the whole story of industry woes, for over 30 per cent of revenue came from successes of south Indian films dubbed in Hindi.

ALSO READ: The Bollywood Khan-Federacy

Indian films, particularly the ones in Hindi and South Indian languages earn decent revenues from their showing abroad. The Indian diaspora in the US being 5.2 million strong, the films made here have a thriving market in America. But revenues from Indian film exports to the US will be badly dented if President Trump slaps a 100 per cent tariff on foreign films. Pradeep Dwivedi of Eros International says: “The tariff effectively doubles the cost of importing Indian films to the US. A reduction in Indian film presence in the US theatres could reduce India’s soft power and cultural influence through cinema.” There is no love lost between Trump and Hollywood, which acutely surfaced during the Presidential election campaign.

Describing Hollywood film shooting outside the US a “national security threat,” Trump has set in motion the “process of instituting a 100 per cent tariff on any and all movies coming into our country that are produced in foreign lands.” What Trump is planning to mete out to foreign films, including American movies shot in overseas locations falls in line with his overall protectionist trade policy. Trump doesn’t care that he is universally ridiculed for abandoning free trade. “The movie industry in America is dying a very fast death. Other countries are offering all sorts of incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States.” To consider this “a national security threat” is ridiculous, notwithstanding the fact that film and television production in Los Angeles is down more than one-third over the past ten years. Trump has scores to settle with American production houses. But the proposed punishment will do a collateral damage to Indian film industry. 

To return to the Khans from Bollywood’s existential crisis, Salman is miffed that the South Indians don’t patronise his films though there is goodwill for him in that part of the country. He is quoted as saying: “When my films releases in the South, the people there will greet me with ‘bhai, bhai,’ but they won’t go to theatres. Whereas here, we have embraced stars from the south and their films perform well because we watch them, be it Rajnikanth, Chiranjeevi Garu, Suriya or Ram Charan. But their fans don’t watch our films.”

It’s high time for the swaggering Salman to realise that not to talk of the South where the stars perform the on-screen heroics far better than their counterparts in Hindi films, in the North too the patronage of films like Sikander is fast shrinking. Except for a few (Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff and Shahid Kapoor) Bollywood actors are no match for the dancing skills of southern stars such as Allu Arjun, Ram Charan, Jr. NTR and Prabhu Deva (described as Indian Michael Jackson). Considering all these factors, Bollywood has no justification to grudge the success of films made in the South. In fact, the Hindi adaptation of southern films has proved a booster for Bollywood, confirming that most of the Hindi releases are bereft of ideas and repetitive.

Aamir Khan and some others in the industry hold the poor footfall in theatres to films being released on OTT soon after making appearances on the big screen. Speaking at a session on ‘Studios of the Future,’ Aamir said: “The immediacy of an OTT release after a theatrical release often leaves the audience with an easy way out – why go to the theatre when the film will be streaming soon… You are telling the audience don’t come (to the theatre). That’s why they are not coming in.”

They can go on arguing about the faulty business model and perhaps the industry will soon set out to make needed reforms. But they may be rest assured that for the industry to pull back people to theatres, it will have to focus on content. Pick up good stories, commission scriptwriters who will do justice to the original while taking liberty for film adoption and then leave things to directors. Hey presto, we will see gems being delivered by Bollywood. That will be the only way to get the crowd back at theatres

The Bollywood Khan-federacy

By Mahendra Ved

This is the year of the Khans of Bollywood. Three of them, Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan have dominated it for over three decades and as they all turn sixty, are still on the top.

If Aamir Khan is to be believed, older than the other two by eight months, he says: “We still feel we are 20.”

Aamir turned 60 on March 14 and he heralded this in style by introducing to the media his latest ‘partner’. This is after two marriages that lasted 16 years each and several rumoured alliances. All this feeds the social media frenzy. But this was in the passing, amidst plans of Sitare Zameen Par that he promises will carry his iconic Taare Zameen Par beyond the starry heights of creativity. There is obvious interest in his Lahore 1947 about the Partition that year. He has recovered from the loss of image and money, from Lal Singh Chadha, a remake of Forrest Gump.

If the much-married “Mr Perfectionist” arouses wide interest in his ‘reel’ and real life, so does the single-wife faithful Shah Rukh Khan, the Badshah of Bollywood – titles that are given and acknowledged in all seriousness. And then, there is the never-married Salman Khan. He has lost out on matrimony as, his writer-father Salim Khan laments, the heroines he promotes simply leave once they achieve name and fame.

With Shah Rukh and Salman, you have to witness the audience frenzy in Jawan and Pathan when ‘Bhai’ comes to SRK’s rescue during a free-for-all fight in a distant land. You have to see the crowds outside their Mumbai homes on their birthdays or Eid festivals, who wait for hours to have their glimpse as they wave from their balconies. A recent housebreak that seriously injured Saif Ali Khan, often referred to as “the fourth Khan” caused concern and anger against the police.

This is the longest collective success, and still counting, that Indian cinema has witnessed since Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand and Raj Kapoor. They, along with Ashok Kumar, Sunil Dutt, Raaj Kumar and many others had longer run in the last century.

ALSO READ: Raj Kapoor – The Clown Prince of Bollywood

Millions ride on the Khans. Each one heading their own production, besides freelancing, announces or executes ambitious projects meant for home and global audiences. They are definitely ageing, but unlike their peers, maintain well-chiselled bodies, with six-packs developed and shed as and when required for their roles and leave behind ‘heroes’ half their age.

Though by no means to be solely blamed, their rise and resilient stay at the top has consolidated the ‘star’ system. They are the cause and the consequence, unlike in the past, of much talk of cronyism and of ‘pedigree’. There is much justification either way – take the side you want.

The ‘first superstar’ (Rajesh Khanna) and ‘Jubilee Kumar’ (Rajendra Kumar) belong to the last century. But children and grandchildren of many – even fifth generation in the case of the Kapoors – are part of the Bollywood discourse. This is not surprising in tradition-bound India where children are promoted by their parents. Those with pedigree and push fall if they are not talented enough. The key difference is in opportunities for trial and error.

And yet, more and more ‘outsiders’ strive and the lucky ones succeed. The advent of the OTT (over the top) cinema has brought about an avalanche of newcomers in all branches of film-making. As actor Pratik Gandhi, a small-town stage and TV actor who has succeeded, has said: “OTT has disrupted the film industry in a good way.” Indeed.

But rest assured, despite the many duds they have delivered – and this is true of many other A-listers like Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn – the ‘system’ places Khans well above the others, even their heroines. The gender bias continues, so does the age-dictated fade out for the latter. The ethos remains patriarchal.

Their heroines have remained in their 20s, though. It is but a minor change from the times the hero, whatever his age, ran around the tree with a teenage girl. A bit of ‘maturing’ in Bollywood.

The star system has its seamy side. It has perpetuated hangers-on who are integral to a star’s entourage. The producer bears the burden. Again, the Khans are not solely responsible.

A significant part of the budget goes to the PR to ensure success. Called “a better businessman” by his critics, Aamir is known to set a big amount for PR and personally gets involved. PR gives the necessary push, but does not guarantee success.

Much has changed in the last three decades. The Khans are the link between the era of ‘matinee’ shows and single-screen cinema theatres, old technology of shooting, editing and processing a film giving way to everything digital. Less sweat, but more competition as more and more films are made, year after year, and reach new audiences.

There is more money flowing in to make films for a global market that is Indian diaspora-plus. Mercifully, the money does not come from smugglers and underworld dons, as it once did. It is better organised and the corporate sector, even the multinational corporations.

Yet, the risk factor remains as high as ever with hundreds that do not get theatre release and find themselves on the OTT or simply, into oblivion. As its glamour and pull rise, so does the risk. Gain or loss could be in billions.

The “100-crore club” that started with the Khans has the moolah spreading to the better organised South, especially the Telugu cinema. This has also meant that after RRR and Bahubali, the Raos and Reddys and many with tongue-twisting names gain national and international fame. Also, the traditional North-South divide that accepted mainly a heroine from the South but the hero essentially from the North has begun to disappear.

Political risk has increased, ostensibly because of the Khans’ faith. There is awe and honour, but speaking up in public has become increasingly difficult for the Khans. They get targeted by politicians and conservatives. Salman, the unadulterated, if naïve ‘Bhai’ and a charity-disbursing do-gooder, enjoys dancing at Ganesh festivals (his mother was born a Hindu) but has avoided speaking.

Time was when SRK and Aamir used to vent their views openly. But the pushback was tremendous, even if temporary. Supporting the Narmada project oustees caused disruption of Aamir’s Fanaa. Complaining of insecurity felt by the religious minorities led to systematic targeting of SRK’s two films, Pathan and Jawan. However, both turned out to be big hits, minting millions. Nothing beyond tense public discourse and political jibes came out of SRK’s son being imprisoned for alleged possession of drugs.

Obviously, superstardom comes at a price.