Bajrangi Bhaijaan thread #3 Updates - Page 14

Originally posted by: Saraa.

Is he gonna come on JDJ?

Ours is such a large industry in terms of revenue, love and respect!

VS: A lot of people who interviewed you recently said, Salman sir is in a very good mood these days and enjoying giving interviews.'

SK: One or two or three interviews are fine. I don't talk all that much, so after that, suddenly it's like a month's talking goes in one interview. And the questions are the same, one after another. Now even if I want to answer the same question in the same way, it is just not possible. So, if you say jo mujhe bola same usko bhi bola. But if the question is the same, my answer will be the same, na! So you have to find a way of saying the same thing differently, which is taxing. Sometimes you lose interest and go off on a tangent. Sometimes, people ask unrelated questions and that's irritating. This time, we are not promoting the film but we are just spreading awareness that the film will hit cinemas on this date. People who watch trailers and songs on social networking sites are the audience who visit cinemas to watch the film, repeatedly, sometimes with friends or family.

They already know when the film is set to release, par phir aisa bhi hota hai ke they think, Yeh bol kyun nahin raha hai kuch film ke baare mein? Kahin film mein koi gadbad toh nahi?' Toh unke liye batana padta hai ki yeh film hai, yeh plot hai. So I don't feel the need to be everywhere. Har jagah buffet laga hai aur har jagah khane mein lag pade toh indigestion toh hona hi hai! We feel where there are people who would say, This film is coming and we should go and watch it.' That's where we have promoted it. We have done some reality shows, some dance shows, we have done lots of kids' shows. Bachon ke shows kyunki bachein woh show dekhenge aur maa baap ko bolengey ki Bajrangi Bhaijaan dekhna hai.

VS: When social media became big, we thought it would be a positive platform but it has turned into a negative platform. What do you have to say?

SK: It will change, it has to change. It's is a very simple thing... Somebody has been very gracious and has said that you can enter this platform on any identity toh maa-baap se chup chup ke karna so there is an element of fun, aap log usko ek alag hi level pe le kar gaye. For example, our birth certificate, school joining certificate or our results, medical tests, blood tests, Adhaar card, driver's licence, passport, everything is your real identification.

But on this platform, you can use anybody's identity and misuse it. You can do anything. When we make movies, we have various certifications like U, UA and A. In social media, there is nothing like that, and now everything is on the phone. Even a kid uses mobile phones, so if he is a fan of Salman Khan, Aamir Khan or Shah Rukh Khan, he will join social media and learn all these cuss words. If you want to comment, then you must but it should be done through your own identity as you should be responsible for your statements. You say something and go, I am sorry, I didn't mean it like this', then you have the right.

For instance, when I commented on the Vashi toll naka. My driver told me that the toll naka had shut down. So I confirmed whether it was true. Then I asked, Arre yeh sab de rahe hai (toll) toh yeh kya chakkar hai.' So I spoke with the owner, as one of my friends knows him, and he said Yeh bandh hua hai, yeh nahin band hua hai.' I saidnahin bandh hua hai bhai, Vashi is still on. It was a mistake and I rectified it by tweeting what the situation actually was. There's no need to delete your tweet. So you are more than welcome to, but it has to be under your own identity.

If a kid is constantly on the phone and he hears or sees these things on social media, he will feel that it's the right way to conduct oneself. But if one reveals one's true identity on social media, then they will be careful of their language. So they should have a provision on all sites to vet material and comments before they are published. Or if something offensive is posted, then the account from where it came should be instantly banned. Only then will this misuse stop. Toh yehtraining that these people are giving, there are several professionals involved in it. It's like a votebank. They make these fake 50, 60 or 100 handles to make 1,000 to 2,000 tweets, they have no followers. All they do is post some inappropriate stuff and go away.

NTA: It is said that some people are paid to tarnish other people's reputations.

SK: Yeah. That's why, what we did through our account was, to figure out all those who were inactive by not tweeting for six-seven months and we deleted their names from our account. If you are going to have an account, you have to be interactive or at least check.

VS: From your earlier releases to Bajrangi Bhaijaan, each of your Eid releases has seen a bigger response, a 20-25 per cent jump.

SK: It's not growing. It's because cinemas are growing that much, tickets prices are growing. But if you watch footfalls, then footfalls pichle picture se kam hi hai.

VS: Footfalls for your Eid releases are increasing as well. For example, Ek Tha Tiger.

SK: But what about Jai Ho?

VS: Right now, we are discussing only footfalls of your Eid releases, which are growing with each release.

NTA: Doesn't that put pressure on you as the benchmark keeps rising?

SK: No, not really. Population is increasing, kids are born daily and before they even learn their parents' names, they know which songs are trending, the names of heroes. With caretakers looking after kids, the TV is always on and depending on who her favourite actor is, she will sing those songs and the kids will pick it up. When the parents return home and the songDhinka chika is playing on TV, the kid picks it up and the parents are amazed at what's happening! They don't realise that when they are watching TV, the sound is familiar to the child. That's the impact television and cinema have on individuals.

It could be an older person or a child who is getting it into his consciousness. He will hear it and he will absorb it. There are people who ask why I don't do negative films and this is why - there is so much positive stuff to do. The negative person is doing his negative stuff because without a villain, who is larger than life, a hero can never be a hero. Woh apna job kar raha hai toh apan apna job karo.

VS: Talking about number of cinemas, do you miss the era of jubilees?

SK: It's the same thing. Cinemas were less then and are still less. Right now, we are still short by 25-30,000. Even if two newcomers want to release on the same day, toh prints ki mara mari hogi, screens ki mara mari hogi toh yeh kaunsi industry hui? You need to get the theatres. It is such a powerful medium, such a powerful industry but only because there are no numbers, they don't take it seriously. Film music plays everywhere, from weddings to nightclubs. Also, all the musicians from these small bands, when they perform at weddings, they perform on our songs. So the revenue generated is very large. Check the business of everything, from your clothes to your hairstyle.

NTA: TV for that matter...

SK: Yes, TV, radio kahin se bhi dekhein. The expenditure on petrol, diesel, rickshaw, taxi, popcorn, tickets etc, it is very large revenue. I think it is one of the largest industries. What can be bigger than this, yaar? Ek ladka ladki picture dekhne jaate hain. Har theatre ke andar aapko hazaaron log milenge who will say, Hum aapki picture dekhne gaye, phir hamari shaadi ho gayi aur ab humara bacha aapka fan hai.' I mean, they won't say,ki, You know what, we went to a press conference or a political rally and then we fell in love and now we have a kid!' So it is such a large industry in terms of revenue, love and respect!

NTA: Given the very large numbers your films generally have to clock, does that restrict your choices? For example, a Rs 60-crore film might be considered a hit for someone but a Rs 150-crore Salman film is considered a flop. Does that restrict you from doing a certain role?

SK: We lose on an imaginary profit. We think that the film will do Rs 300 crore but it earned Rs 250 crore, so we are, like, arre Rs 50 crore lose kiye humne. Yeh kya baat hui? Ek hota hai ke zyaada se zyaada karein and when you see that the trend is not going that way, then we are, like, are kam se kam flop ho, ek phat se change hota hai!

NTA: For example, you can't do Phir Milenge now.

SK: I couldn't do Phir Milenge even then! I did that film for Revathy and it was a beautiful film. I keep saying that if your intention is to make a movie, then people have to see it in theatres. If it is to spread awareness on AIDS, then people have to watch it in theatres. But, today, television is so big that people watch it at home. But, as a producer, they would have wanted the film to be a much bigger hit, which didn't happen then. You can spread this kind of awareness through social media.

NTA: There is no need for a film.

SK: You can do it through a press conference, we can do interviews like this, we can talk about this.

VS: Lastly, Mr Butala (Amar Butala, CEO Salman Khan Ventures) is here. Tell us what are your plans for SKF?

SK: Arre, he is here now, you ask him.

VS: You tell us.

SK: Arre, no yaar, you ask him, he is all charged up!