According to Madhur Bhandarkar, the audience’s aggression was driven by Sushant Singh Rajput’s passing and is only a phase.
For his films like Fashion, Chandni Bar, and Page 3, director Madhur Bhandarkar has received praise from both reviewers and viewers. He has also lately remarked on the Boycott Bollywood trend. This pattern was seen in films like Pathaan and Laal Singh Chaddha, the former of which set box office records and the latter of which failed to impress audiences. Bollywood has been going through a difficult time over the past few years. Many of the films didn’t do well at the box office, and some even suffered the wrath of the boycott trend. Bhandarkar says that since Sushant Singh Rajput’s passing, the situation has gotten worse.
For the uninitiated, SSR allegedly committed suicide in 2020 while the country was under its first lockdown. His passing sparked a huge uproar, and discussions about nepotism and drug usage in the profession dominated social media. The well-known director believes that his passing has accelerated the trend of movie bans and boycotts.
Speaking on Maniesh Paul’s podcast, Madhur Bhandarkar said that the #BoycottBollywood trend has gotten worse since Sushant Singh Rajput’s passing. It has occurred a lot of times before, he said. Similar to Gangubai Kathiawadi, it was well received by viewers. I believe this to be a phase. People will go to a movie if it is well-made and has compelling material. People watched Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, The Kashmir Files, and Kantara, so it’s not like they never go to the cinema.
Madhur Bhandarkar continued, “I have noticed that this (boycott) happened largely after the passing of Sushant Singh Rajput. Maybe the industry ignored him. He was from a non-film background and he came and he struggled. It was a very unfortunate, untimely demise, and from there, the anger amid the public got aggravated. It is the public’s opinion.”
