Are We Really Being That Harsh On ‘Thugs Of Hindostan’?

There's a narrative being built about the alleged 'negativity' around Thugs Of Hindostan and how people are 'celebrating' the failure of this film.

By: Tatsam Mukherjee |
November 12, 2018 3:45 pm

Thugs Of Hindostan’s box office collection is plummeting, after starting on a ‘blockbuster’ note. The film grossed an approximate Rs 52 crore on day 1, which dropped to 28.25 on Day 2, 22.75 on Day 3 and 17.25 on Day 4. The film has made an approximate Rs 123 crore within 4 days, which is probably the budget of all of 2018’s independent films put together. And yet, it merely isn’t enough considering the film’s estimated budget of Rs 300 crore. Hence, it’s no surprise that there is a narrative being built about the alleged ‘negativity’ around the film and how people are ‘celebrating’ the failure of this Goliath of a Bollywood film.

#ThugsOfHindostan
HINDI:
Thu 50.75 cr, Fri 28.25 cr, Sat 22.75 cr, Sun 17.25 cr. Total: ₹ 119 cr
TAMIL + TELUGU:
Thu 1.50 cr, Fri 1 cr, Sat 75 lakhs, Sun 75 lakhs. Total: ₹ 4 cr
Total: ₹ 123 cr [5000 screens] India biz.#TOH

— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) November 12, 2018

Mini Mathur, wife of Kabir Khan (whose biggest ‘hits’ have come with Yash Raj Films), took to Twitter to question why film critics were trying to ‘pull down’ a film, within hours of its release. To break it down for Ms Mathur, the critics are doing their job. If they continue to handle their feelings with kid gloves (like they always have), it would only result in fanning the embers of Bollywood’s mediocrity. Had this so-called ‘negativity’ and bad word-of-mouth worked in Dhoom 3 itself, then we wouldn’t have to see Vijay Krishna Acharya direct another film, without so much as giving a hoot about the preposterous central conflict in Thugs Of Hindostan.

I also have a question to every critic (self proclaimed as well as those whose careers are ancillary to the film industry)..
Why would you want to pull a film down within hours of its release, before the audience has had a chance to see it and judge it for themselves?

— Mini Mathur (@minimathur) November 9, 2018

Positioned on the shoulders of Bollywood’s most bankable movie-star, Thugs of Hindostan looks and smells like a vanity project of Bollywood’s biggest production house. It was YRF’s hubris that convinced them that the audience would accept any formula peddled to them through stars like Aamir Khan & Amitabh Bachchan. Taking a young actor like Fatima Sana Sheikh from the highest highs of Dangal and bringing her down to this, yet again proves how starkly different an actor can look, because of the quality of a story.

Suniel Shetty said at a press conference, how he backed Thugs Of Hindostan that was ‘unfairly’ being targeted. He went on to mention how everyone considers themselves a critic, these days. Mr Shetty isn’t entirely wrong considering the pathetic discourse around Bollywood films. But if Mr Shetty had cared to look closely and read the reviews (of those who matter), he would find out that the ‘critics’ weren’t punishing Thugs of Hindostan for being a ‘mainstream, masala’ movie. Most of these ‘critics’ were actually disappointed that the film wasn’t inventive enough to be a ‘masala’ movie. They were bemoaning the fact that Thugs Of Hindostan gets absolutely lazy with its story, to the point that it takes the audience for granted.

So, is Thugs Of Hindostan the worst movie to come out of Bollywood? Probably not. Then why does it have to become the butt of jokes on Twitter, be mocked by critics and audience alike? Why does its box office need discussion? It’s because Thugs of Hindostan, in the most self-aware manner, stands for everything that’s wrong with Bollywood. Where stars and casting coups are valued more than characters. Where the women just exist. Where all a production house can talk about, is the film’s ‘blockbuster potential’. Where the distributors can raise their markup, because it’s a sure-shot ‘500 crore film’.

Thugs of Hindostan is being widely criticised (and probably hasn’t made money) because it is a dishonest film. It doesn’t have anything to say. The audience can see right through the director’s illusion of a spectacle. All members on YRF’s team can be rest assured – that most people aren’t ‘celebrating’ the failure of the film. We’re all just fed up of lazy ‘blockbusters’, put together solely to make a quick buck.