R Balki opened up recently about Hindi films that have become blockbusters in the past 4-5 years and called them to be ‘damn boring’. The director reflected on how there’s more weightage given to economics of a project and there’s rampant marketing done to recover money.
In a recent interaction with MIT World Peace University, Balki said, “A few blockbusters that have happened in the last four or five years, or whatever, have actually been the worst films. Not only from an intellectual or artistic point of view but also from the old entertainment, ‘masala, paisa vasool’ kind of a feel. Also, they are damn boring. The fun has completely gone from our blockbusters.”
He added, “It’s become like a project. There’s an economics associated with that stuff. They want to recover this, they’re putting this money, they’re pumping the marketing out. It’s marketing, basically. It’s just driving people towards believing something is good. By the time people believe it’s bad, the film has made its money.”
Balki’s last film Ghoomer, starring Abhishek Bachchan and Saiyami Kher, clashed at the box-office with Sunny Deol’s Gadar 2 in 2023, resulting in a lukewarm response. He is known for helming thought-provoking films like Paa (2009) and Pad Man (2018) along with lighter comedies like Cheeni Kum (2007) and Shamitabh (2015).