Q. You have said that the Khan monopoly will be broken but is not possible that there is no star system after the Khans and they are the last superstars?.

Mohsin Butt

A. Anything is possible but if there is no star system then there is no Hindi film industry. Yes films will still be made but the footfalls will go down a lot. A Salman Khan or Shahrukh Khan dont have the all round popularity that a Dharmendra or Amitabh Bachchan had a few decades back so generally the biggest films today have less footfalls than that era despite the population almost doubling. If the star system goes down another few levels then the biggest films in India will not be Hindi films but Hollywood films or Telugu films (unless their star system also crashes). Stars are the lifeline of this industry whether people like or not. By stars we mean genuine stars who have some sort of clout to people to the theaters.

Q. What are the expectations for Thugs Of Hindustan as it does seem to be negative in the media and on social media?

A. Mitra

A. Does it really matter. It reflects the minority of the film going audience. Films like Tumbbad and Andhadhun are masterpieces for these people but how many people going to the theatres 5 lakhs and 50 lakhs respectively and on top both will be forgotten after the theatrical run by viewers. Yes talkers will talk but talk does not give any returns. There may be that limited section of the audience which goes for the above films which may not have liked Thugs Of Hindustan trailer  but you have Aamir Khan to cover a chunk of this audience as he has biggest pull with metro premium multiplex audience. There was similar talk with Tiger Zinda Hai last year but there was no stopping the film. All commercial masala films like this rest on emotions to go on after the initial, if the reasons as to what is happening on screen is correct for the audience which leads to emotions working then it will beat Dangal and become the highest grossing film for our industry. If the emotions dont work with the audience then such a spectacle will still get 300 crore or close. Bahubali is a phenomenal film and honestly speaking its unlikely a Hindi filmmaker can have the conviction to go into mass commercial formula to that level due to that high end multiplex audience which we have in the Hindi market so as a film its tough to compare with Bahubali. Those Bahubali records will not be beaten by a better film as its going takes ages for that but it will be beaten as the market grows and ticket rates get higher and that will take some time. Of course if Thugs Of Hindustan is truly a phenomenal piece of cinema then anything can happen but that can only be judged after release. The film is a big screen spectacle so it will help if its kept to the big screen and footage as promos and songs is kept to a limit and then the actors dont run around doing the usual interview rubbish which actual bores the audience to death as its so repetitive. The media may not like as it costs them access to the stars and less coverage on digital space but thats not the problem of the makers.