Stree 2 has emerged as a blockbuster of epic proportions. Several factors contributed to its success and hence, it was bewildering to see the overzealous PR team of some of its actors taking credit and calling their talent a superstar. Film exhibitor and distributor Akshaye Rathi, in a tweet, made an interesting observation, “When the opening day number of a film is higher than the average lifetime business of all the past films featuring the actor / actress in it, the credit for success ought to go to the film makers! All this PR around the 'stardom' of these actors is silly & needs to be called out. They're fantastic actors & even better people I'm sure, but their face on a film's poster DOES NOT draw an opening & I hope they & the makers of their forthcoming films choose to be rational when it comes to deciding their remuneration going ahead. THAT would be the factor which will draw the P&L statement of their upcoming films & eventually, the longevity of their careers. Hoping & praying that sanity prevails! #FoodForThought #Films #Cinema”.
Akshaye Rathi also gave a detailed explanation behind this tweet, exclusively to Bollywood Hungama, which is as follows:
When the opening day number of a film is higher than the average lifetime business of all the past films featuring the actor / actress in it, the credit for success ought to go to the film makers! All this PR around the 'stardom' of these actors is silly & needs to be called out.… — Akkshay Rathie / अक्षय राठी ???????? (@akshayerathi) August 19, 2024
If the numbers happened courtesy to these actors, I can’t wait to watch their next film open not at Rs. 55 crores, Rs. 45 crores or Rs. 35 crores but at Rs. 25 crores. The average lifetime business of the last few films of these actors was as much as the first weekend collections of Stree 2. Then how exactly has this stardom suddenly come into play miraculously? If it has appeared miraculously, will it disappear entirely when the next film releases?
It is crystal clear that the order for the credit of this film goes to Amar Kaushik followed by Dinesh Vijan, Niren Bhatt, Sachin-Jigar, Sarkata and then anyone else. I am not dissing the actors. Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Abhishek Banerjee and Aparshakti Khurana are all fantastic actors. But not one of them has the ability to just put his or her face on the poster because of which an audience will come to the theatre.
Let’s face it. There are only 6-7 actors in the Hindi film industry who have that ability. There are only 3-4 actors in the Tamil film industry who have that ability. There are only 5-6 actors in the Telugu film industry who have that ability. Cumulatively, there are not more than two dozen superstars of this sort in the country right now. I am not even saying that the actors in Stree 2 are lesser. They are phenomenal. But that sort of raw, brazen stardom is what you see when Salman Khan collects Rs. 180 crores with a film like Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan (2023).
And that’s not the case with Stree 2. It’s terrific content, terrific storytelling, terrific music and terrific conviction in marketing by the production house that has given Stree 2 such numbers along with the franchise value.
Our industry needs to be sensitive to the sensibility and intelligence of the audience at large. So much of the garbage we put out as PR is daft insensitive. I remember PR articles around a film where the producers tomtoming about how they spend Rs. 3 crores on the hair of an actress! One, the movie of course didn’t work. Second, how does the hairstyle of an actress add anything to the box office? Third, when there are enough people in the country who are struggling to make ends meet, is this the kind of PR you really want to put out?
We need to realize that ours is an industry which has the limelight. Therefore, there will be scrutiny by the public of whatever we do on and off the screen. Hence, we need to be a little socially and politically aware and be sensitive and sensible to the audience that makes us who we are.
Look at the Telugu stars. It’s not like they are living a simplistic life. They are living it up and how. But look at their public appearances and the humility that they carry when they are with their fans. It is something that we should be inspired by.
Even in Hollywood, there are cases of dark insensitivity. But the audience there puts the star on a pedestal rather than vice versa. That’s the reason they are loved for decades together, and they deliver at the box office with consistency.
Also Read: Rajkummar Rao on the super success of Stree 2, “More than the box office, it’s people’s love that matters to me”
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