Of late, Bollywood seems to be taking the expression “the bigger, the better”, quite seriously. The past few months have seen a spate of big budget movies like Ra.One, Bodyguard making a splash at the box office. Despite the risks involved in recovering the inflated budget of a big movie, it is still a lucrative option for most filmmakers given the fact that it does not require a strong script to save the day.
Director of the film Pyar Ka Punchnama, Luv Ranjan believes since low budget movies have economic constraints, they need a sound story and more importantly, a smart promotion tactic to make the cut. “Since my movie had no known faces, I was apprehensive about the opening of the film and I was proved right when it had a dismal opening at the box office in the first week,” he says.
“But not having popular faces ultimately worked in my favour since I concentrated on the characters more than the actors. People could relate to the characters and with word of mouth publicity, the movie picked up the following week.”
Filmmaker Sagar Bellary whose Bheja Fry in 2007 was one of the first low-budget films to make an impact, says, “Sahib Biwi Aur Gangster rode on the credibility of its starcast and strength of story. It is true that big names and budgets can help a movie sail through, but that does not underplay the importance of a good story.” Sagar admits that the advent of Direct to Home television (DTH) has changed things, making filmmakers more confident of taking risks since the recovery of costs is almost certain.
Film enthusiast Shivani Shekhar believes that while a good script is definitely what pulls the audience to the theatres, the big guns have a drawing power that’s all their own. “ I am a huge Salman Khan fan and will go for his film regardless of the story. However, if it’s a low budget film, I would rather wait for the reviews of my friends or colleagues,” she says.