Vidhu Vinod Chopra Credits Content More Than Star Power For Film’s Success

Filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra says he has always believed that content trumps star power and the proof is in the success of his film 12th Fail, which just celebrated its silver jubilee in theatres. The director-producer, known for hits such as Parinda, Love Story 1947, Mission Kashmir, Munnabhai series and 3 Idiots, said filmmakers have to believe that “there is nothing to lose but achieve” while making a film.

I don’t believe in star power, says Vidhu Vinod Chopra

“I always believed content matters. When I made ‘Munna Bhai MBBS’, there was no star power in the first movie but it did well. I don’t believe in star power. And the star power comes from the fact that the filmmakers have given up their power,” Chopra told PTI in an interview.

“We are the ones who make the movie… We write the movie… Sorry to quote Karl Marx: ‘You have nothing to lose but your chains’.” The 71-year-old writer-director adapted Anurag Pathak’s bestselling novel of the same name. 

12th Fail, starring Vikrant Massey and Medha Shankr, highlights the life story of Manoj Kumar Sharma who overcame extreme poverty to become an IPS officer, and how his wife Shraddha played an instrumental role in his journey. The film, which came out in theatres on October 27 last year, became a critical and commercial hit upon its release and continues to be in cinemas despite also being available on OTT platforms. The film reportedly earned over Rs 70 crore in India.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra weighs in on box office debate

Chopra said it might sound strange but he is not someone who thinks a lot about the success or failure of a movie. The filmmaker said, “What I think is, ‘Have I succeeded or failed as a filmmaker?’. To me, that is far more important. In ‘12th Fail’, I felt good that what I went out to do, I’ve done. And when people also like that, it feels great. Box offices (numbers) are not important for me."

“The movie has made me humbler; I basically am a very arrogant man who believes in the arrogance of his heart and what this film has done has actually made me very humble and I am very grateful,” he added. Chopra said it’s encouraging to see an “intimate” movie like 12th Fail have a strong 25-week run in theatres.

(with PTI inputs)