Madhur Bhandarkar talks about industry 'ignoring' Sushant Singh Rajput, boycott Bollywood

Madhur Bhandarkar, in his recent interview, opened up on the trends of boycott calls against Bollywood films. Speaking to Maniesh Paul on his podcast, the filmmaker also mentioned late actor Sushant Singh Rajput and said that maybe the film industry "ignored" him. “I have noticed that this (boycott) happened largely after the passing of Sushant Singh Rajput. Maybe the industry ignored him," said the filmmaker.

He added, "He was from a non-film background and he came and he struggled. It was a very unfortunate, untimely demise and from there, the anger amid the public got aggravated. It is the public’s opinion.”  Sushant Singh Rajput died on June 14, 2020, before the release of his last film Dil Bechara. 

Madhur Bhandarkar on Gangubai Kathiawadi, The Kashmir Files

Speaking about the audience watching Alia Bhatt's Gangubai Kathiawadi, Anupam Kher's The Kashmir Files,  Madhur Bhandarkar said, "It has happened many times before. Like in the case of Gangubai Kathiawadi, people watched it and it was nice." The filmmaker said that he thinks the boycott culture is a phase and if the film is nice and the content is strong, people will go and watch. "People watched Kantara, The Kashmir Files, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, it’s not like people don’t go to watch the movies," said the filmmaker.

Madhur Bhandarker's comment has come after The Kerala Story row. The movie, helmed by Sudipto Sen, has been banned in West Bengal to "avoid any incident of hatred and violence, and maintain peace" in the state. Meanwhile, in Tamil Nadu, a set of theater owners have stopped the screening of the film as a "precautionary measure."

All about Madhur Bhandarkar

The filmmaker is known for giving several hit films to Bollywood, including Chandni Bar (2001), for which he won National Film Award for Best Film on Social Issues. Also, he won National Film Awards for Best Feature Film and Best Director for Page 3 (2005) and Traffic Signal (2007), respectively. Other movies he directed are Fashion, Heroine, Babli Bouncer and many more.