EXCLUSIVE | Kabir Khan: ‘There is no reason for us to go into depression & start writing obituaries for Bollywood’

Filmmaker Kabir Khan believes that it is unfair to compare the success of south films with Bollywood. He believes that Bollywood has the potential and things will get better next year.  The fact that south films are doing well is reason enough to celebrate and say at least cinema is working, instead of doing the unhealthy comparison.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

On striking a balance between commerce and creativity, how do you do that?

When I am making a film, I don’t think I am keeping that in mind.  It is basically your inherent gut feeling as a filmmaker that works.  I am in that zone where I am able to make commercial cinema and keep it a little real and logical at the same time. I think it comes naturally when it comes to writing scenes. I don’t think I will ever sit down and write scenes and actively think as to how do I keep it real and make it commercial at the same time.

Bollywood is losing its swag. What should Bollywood do to get back its lost glory?

Bollywood is a huge industry and a very dynamic industry and we had the pandemic hence it had a setback this year. I think we have had bigger setbacks in the past too. And I don’t understand the reason behind the comparison because the South comprises four industries and it is unfair to compare one industry with four.

In fact, it is a reason for us to celebrate and say at least cinema is working. And there is absolutely no reason for us to say the South is working and we are not working.  There are shows and films that are coming from the South that are doing huge business. It is true that there are a lot of films from which have done exceedingly well and some sure shot films from Bollywood which we thought will do well, didn’t make that kind of business at the box office. But that is definitely not reason enough to go into depression and start writing obituaries for Bollywood. We should just be happy that cinema is doing well, whether it is from south, north, Bollywood, that is completely irrelevant. For me as long as cinema is doing well we are in a good place.

 On 83 completing a year…

With 83 it has been an incredible one year. I don’t think any film in my filmography has given me that kind of love that 83 has. When the film was released at the theatres, the cinemas shut down because of COVID. So, when it was out on OTT, it was almost like a new release. So, there’s a huge deluge of appreciation again when the film was released on OTT. I have never experienced such a long conversation over any of my films other than 83.  I guess with 83 people were having an emotional catharsis while watching the film.

What is more important to you, the story or the star?

You can never be happy with just a star. Similarly, if there is a great story and there are no actors, the film is not going to work. The star is not telling the story, it is being told by the director. We have to acknowledge the fact that having Salman Khan in a film sells.

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