Boycott culture Provoked Cold War Between Fans & Industry: Cancel Culture is Toxic AF
Boycott culture irked Bollywood Biggies, and they came up with a Savage solution! But will that work?
Highlights:
- What is happening in Bollywood?
- Bollywood comes up with a befitting solution, #Boycottmedia
- Did Tapsee Pannu kick Kulhadi?
- Bollywood vs Fans
#Boycottlalsinghchadda
#Boycottdarlings
#Boycottrakshabhandhan
#Boycottpathan
More than the name of these movies, the boycott trends have trended on Twitter and in the recent past. The boycott culture followed not only the released ones but also those who are slated to be released.
What is happening in Bollywood?
Let us start with Lal Singh Chadda. Amir Khan is known for blockbusters. From 3 idiots to Dangal, his movies have made big records and bagged big numbers at the box office too compared to Lal Singh Chadda. This movie earned 11 crores on its opening day. In fact, in 5 days it earned merely 46 crores. If we talk about Thugs of Hindustan, a movie that did not go well with critics managed to earn over 52 crores in a single day.
So, Lal Singh Chadda could be considered probably the biggest flop of Amir Khan’s career since Mela. Why did Lal Singh Chadda not earn? Was it the content of the movie or was it the boycott army?
Well, the answer would be both. Lal Singh Chadda faced massive Boycott calls for two reasons. One was Amir Khan’s Statement in 2015 where he and her then-wife discussed leaving India because of growing intolerance in the country.
The other would be his role in PK where he questioned religious dogmas and superstitions. Some people called him anti-Hindu, anti-national.
However, the fact cannot be neglected that critics also did not shell out good reviews for the movie. It was called a poor adaptation of the classic Forrest Gump and there were many factual mistakes about the recruiting procedure of the Indian army. The acting skills of Aamir were highly mocked by some reviews.
There were boycott calls against Alia Bhatt’s Darlings as well even before the movie was released because some believed that it promoted violence against men.
Akshay Kumar Raksha Bandhan also faced a Boycott because some people pointed out tweets of writer Kanika Dhillon which were said to be anti-Hindu.
The upcoming movie of Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathan is already facing the heat because of his comment on growing intolerance in the country.
Whether these boycott calls impact the success of movies or not is debatable but logic shouldn’t boycott. Bollywood is just more than these actors. There are distributors, and producers who also invest their money in these movies. There are 100s of people who earn a livelihood from the entertainment industry. So, boycott calls just not impact these actors but also 100s of other people. Some may have an objection about what these actors said but harming them economically or boycott calls could force them to speak what certain people want to hear and actually prove their point about a sense of fear and intolerance.
The only Bollywood movies that have done well this year are Bhool Bhulaiya, Gangubai, and Kashmir Files.
Hundreds of crores are at stake. The industry is already suffering and is trying to come out from the impact of the pandemic.
Bollywood comes up with a befitting solution, #Boycottmedia
There are critics and people engaged in the industry who are suggesting a few ways to tackle this boycott culture. Himesh Mankad, a film journalist, shared a Twitter thread that showed his concern over the current situation.
He quoted, “Media asking actors to comment on the current state of boycotts, actors commenting, more fuel added to the fire and the game continues. I am pretty sure, the day isn’t far when actors will stop interacting with the media and let their trailer, music, and content do the talking!
⭐ Should stars STOP giving interviews to *mediapersons* during pre-release promotions, since it leads to unnecessary controversies, bans and boycotts?
⭐ Should producers concentrate ONLY on trailers and songs – like the earlier days – to market their films?
What's *YOUR* take? pic.twitter.com/tWbGiVKuEp— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) August 23, 2022
This thread was mainly in response to Taran Adarsh, a movie critic who suggested a way out of the Bollywood boycott.
Mankad went on to say, “commenting on the issue is like a two-edged sword. If you answer, you are arrogant. If you don’t answer, you are ignorant. Rather better to curtail the interactions, concentrate on making good films, and let work do the talking”. It seems that here Himesh Mankad referred to Taapsee Pannu who recently got preyed upon in Boycott culture.
Read More- South Indian Films Rocks, Bollywood Flops: Decoding Reasons #opinion
Did Tapsee Pannu kick Kulhadi?
Did Tapsee Pannu kick Kulhadi? Is she tasting her own medicine? We are not saying it, this is what netizens are talking about Tapsee Pannu on the internet.
Recently, Tapsee Pannu starrer and Anurag Kashyap directed Dobaaraa made a theatrical release. Despite receiving a positive response from the critics, it looks like the film has failed to set the cash registers ringing at the Box Office. ‘Dobaaraa’, which is facing a clash with ‘Laal Singh Chadha’ and ‘Raksha Bandhan’, minted only ₹ 72 lakh on the ticket window.
Dobaara is an official remake of the 2018 Spanish film ‘Mirage’. The mystery drama film revolves around a woman who gets an opportunity to save the life of a 12-year-old boy who witnessed a death during a thunderstorm that happened 25 years ago. She gets connected through the television set during a similar storm in the present. As per India Today report, the film registered a mere 2-3 occupancy in theatres on its opening day. The report added that several shows of the film were cancelled after the poor turnout of the crowd in the theatres.
However, fans are saying Tapsee Pannu had invited this Boycott trend. Taapsee and Anurag Kashyap had appealed to people to boycott their film ‘Dobaaraa’ so that they join the league of ‘Laal Singh Chaddha’, ‘Raksha Bandhan’ and others. Cheekily responding to a question about the boycott trend prevalent in Bollywood.
Not only Taapsee, many Bollywood celebs like Shefali Shah, Arjun Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Kareena Kapoor even Vijay Devarakonda, had tabled their views on the new cancelled culture.
Bollywood vs Fans
Now, it seems to keep the logic aside, it has turned into a cold war between the Bollywood biggies and viewers keeping the media as the moderator.
This whole scenario left us with 3 questions:
Is this the end of Bollywood?
Will Bollywood completely ignore the media regarding film promotions?
Will fans continue to get irked by the Bollywood bayan bazi on the issue?
Do let us know what are your thoughts on it.
