Anurag Kashyap On Bandar Main Vaapas Aaunga Woes Word Of Mouth Isnt Allowed To Build

. While both films earned critical acclaim, their box-office performance has been largely underwhelming. Now, Kashyap has spoken about what he sees as a growing problem in the theatrical business, the lack of opportunities for smaller films to find an audience through word of mouth.

Anurag Kashyap recalled a time when filmmakers and exhibitors were more accommodating. He cited the release of his 2014 film Ugly, which arrived in theatres alongside Rajkumar Hirani’s PK. Since Ugly had already released in France and leaked online, the makers had to advance its India release. “I made a call to Siddharth Roy Kapur, Ronnie Screwvala and Raju Hirani, and we released Ugly in finally at least three shows, they made sure that our film got it. That time is gone now. I can understand the theatrical business is business. They want to make money right now, and Obsession is working. But my thing is, Obsession can still survive on less shows. It will still work with five shows, people will still see it. If not today, they will see it tomorrow.”

“Films should get proper shows so that people can watch them, allowing word of mouth to build up. The thing is, theatre owners themselves don’t allow the word of mouth to build up,” he said, adding that audiences are increasingly being conditioned to wait for such films to arrive on streaming platforms instead. “If you are building an audience only for event movies, then only those movies will be made. They are so expensive, and the hit-and-miss ratio is huge. For every Dhurandhar, there will be five expensive films that will bomb. Whereas these films are not so expensive and one needs to build word of mouth.”

Speaking about Bandar, Anurag Kashyap pointed out that the film’s late-night shows were performing well, but questioned the logic of screening a heavy prison drama early in the morning. “Bandar’s night shows were full. But who will go and watch it at 9 AM, when it is going to upset you for the rest of the day! There’s human psychology also involved. If I watch my own film, the rest of my day will be ruined. Main Vaapas Aaunga is not like Bandar, it should have had more shows. It’s emotional, soulful, has everything that’s good about commercial films. I can still understand for Bandar.”

Kashyap also argued that regional film industries often receive stronger support from exhibitors and local audiences. Referring to Maharashtra’s policy mandating theatres to screen Marathi films for at least four weeks a year and provide a prime-time slot, he said regional industries take pride in showcasing their cinema. “Regional films take pride in their cinema and make sure they showcase their local cinema, whether it’s Kannada films in Karnataka, Telugu films in Andhra or Malayalam films in Kerala.”

As per trade tracker Sacnilk, Bandar, starring Bobby Deol, has grossed over Rs 4.04 crore nett at the box office so far. Meanwhile, Main Vaapas Aaunga, featuring Naseeruddin Shah, Diljit Dosanjh, Sharvari and Vedang Raina, has earned Rs 6.87 crore nett.