Rajkumar Hirani says box office numbers are not the criteria to judge a film: People get influenced

Rajkumar Hirani helemed the recent drama film Dunki. The filmmaker known for making blockbusters like the Munna Bhai franchise and PK spoke candidly about the obsession with box office numbers. He remarked on film’s business becoming the criteria of its success. 

Rajkumar Hirani talks about the impact of box office publicity 

In a recent interview with ANI, Rajkumar Hirani opened up about the impact boasting of box office numbers has on the general public. He opined that it is a possibility that people get influenced by the collections. He cited this as a reason as to why some movies do better on OTT.

The director said, “I feel it’s temporary and it is possible that people get influenced. A person can hear something negative and it is possible that he won’t go. It does have a little impact but in the longer run, that person will see it. If not here (theatre), then may be on OTT or satellite and then his love will stay with the film.” 

Rajkumar Hirani says the focus should be on content and not numbers

In the same conversation, Rajkumar Hirani opined that obsession with box office collections shifts the focus from the film’s content. He added, “I still feel that a barometer to judge a film should be… jo debate honi chahiye wo paiso se zyada film ki honi chahiye, film ke content se hone lagi hai. Thoda sa hum ye paiso se karne lage hai, ye tha nahi pehle, ye thoda sa badh gaya hai abhi. (The debate around a film should be more about its content than the money. These days we focus a little more on money.) Earlier, we used to go for a film innocently. We used to talk about the film but now the discussion around numbers has increased.” 

Rajkumar Hirani’s latest outing Dunki hit the big screens on November 21 and has minted a decent collection at the domestic box office.