Filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar, who released two of his movies Babli Bouncer and India Lockdown — on OTT in 2022, is content with the response. “You make certain films keeping OTT in mind. Babli Bouncer was a family film and after a long time, people came to me and said they watched the movie with their loved ones. It became a household film. And India Lockdown even reached the rural areas only because of OTT,” says the 54-year-old.

The appreciation coming his way for two films is especially sweeter amid widespread calls to boycott Bollywood films from certain sections of the audience. The Fashion (2008) director makes no bones about its impact on the industry. “Cancel culture and ‘Boycott Bollywood’ have put a dent in the box office. There are no two ways about it. We cannot be in denial mode,” Bhandarkar asserts.

The filmmaker believes that the movement was triggered by the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput in June 2020. “Before that, there had been no major backlash from the common people. What they thought was that he was not given his due or that he was not treated well,” explains Bhandarkar, adding that it’s heartening to see movies such such as Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, Drishyam 2, KGF - Chapter 2, RRR and Kantara registering impressive numbers at the box office in 2022

With Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone- starrer Pathaan earning close to ₹900 crore at the world wide box office — does he see Bollywood finally bouncing back after three years of struggle? The director agrees and claims,

“The years 2021 and 2022 were a bad phase for the industry, and 2022 was especially bad in terms of investment and people not heading out to theatres. Apart from cancel culture, people’s taste has also changed tremendously within the past year and a half,” explains the director, adding his next will be a theatrical release.