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Rohit Shetty has become synonymous with box office success. The director in all his recent films has tasted unparalleled success, with all of them emerging as blockbusters at the box office, but still there is a section of the audience who are ready to label his work as a tirade even before it hits the theaters.
Rohit, while talking to Koimoi, in an interview seemed very much in sync with this ground reality that defines the existent perception of him. He combated it with, “When you are making a film, you want the money to recover. Earlier, the money wasn’t being counted, it was how many weeks the film ran at the box office. That was the yardstick of success. It was about Golden Jubilee, Platinum Jubilee. Now it is about 100 crores, 150 crores, 200 crores. It is very important, or else how will Bollywood survive?”
Ajay had earlier told Koimoi that Singham Returns‘ action was all about realism, where the character too will suffer the lows. One would presume that Rohit’s trademark gravity defying stunts will be kept minimal. Rohit laughed and agreed with only to add, “The action has been kept realistic and there is no point talking about it. But, of course my action and my films are over the top. Why to be ashamed of it? There is indeed an audience for that who love that kind of cinema.”
Talking about what forms the research base for the filmmaker, Shetty continued with, “My approach always flows from observing people – what they like and what they don’t. We have an open door policy. Finding out what my audiences are liking or not liking is an integral part of my research process. With my releases I have seen 80% like my films and rest 20% don’t. The same will happen with Singham Returns as well and I know that. The lines like ‘Eh, Kyaaa Gaadi udaya?’ is something I will still get. New bottle, old wine and two stars is all going to happen and I am prepared for that. What I work for is towards offering something new in the same masala genre. We are a country where there are so many cultures, so many languages.We try to compare ourselves with Hollywood but we forget that they speak only one language, have one God and primarily only one cinema. Here we have Tamil, Telegu, Kannada, Gujarati, Marathi, and all films are doing so well. We need to cater to that (vernacular film viewing) audiences too. There is nothing wrong in making films for city audiences but for me Pan India is also very important. My budgets are very high and I need that money to recover.”
Rohit’s next Singham Returns is all set to hit the screens this Independence Day. With Ajay Devgn reprising the role of Singham, the film is one of 2014’s most awaited feats.
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