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‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ and the cult of Bollywood’s multiplex films
- Now streaming on Netflix, the Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar and Abhay Deol-starrer had taught filmmakers to cater to urban, metro audiences long before the term ‘multiplex films’ became popular
New Delhi: Director Zoya Akhtar’s comedy-drama Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, which completes 10 years of release this week, has more to celebrate than just its nearly ₹90 crore box office collections at a time when the ₹100 crore club was still new to Bollywood.
Now streaming on Netflix, the Hrithik Roshan, Farhan Akhtar and Abhay Deol-starrer had taught filmmakers to cater to urban, metro audiences long before the term ‘multiplex films’ became popular.
Akhtar’s film tells the story of three friends on a bachelor’s trip in Spain that turns their lives and perspectives around.
To be sure, while several small-scale and mid-sized films multiplex films have seen value in opting for a direct-to-digital release even during the past few months of the covid-19 pandemic given the long wait for theatres to reopen post the covid-19 lockdown, a bunch of filmmakers are still hopeful of the genre being able to lure audiences to theatres whenever they do hit the big screen.
“Whenever cinemas re-open, which they will at some point of time, there will obviously be a massive push for films that have held off for long. But after that, there will be a trough and a long period of time when there will not be any significant releases (because of halted production) and I think smaller movies need to work with the exhibition sector to utilize that time,” filmmaker Siddharth Roy Kapur, also president of the Producers Guild of India had said as part of a panel discussion on movie portal Film Companion last year.
It will be easier for these films to go digital but the idea is to incentivize them to come to theatres because people may not have a lot of large-scale content to look forward to in the mid-term despite wanting to step out for entertainment. Plus, these films will be easier to complete, market, and monetise, Roy had added.
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First Published:16 Jul 2021, 10:29 AM IST
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