Subhash Ghai deciphers why films fail at the box office: 'Animal, Jawan, 12th Fail worked because...' - Exclusive

Showman Subhash Ghai shared his insights with Etimes on why some films fail at the box office. He said, "It is never the film but the budget of the film that fails at the box office. In star-cast films, apart from star prices, it is a script that follows the star's image rather than the story itself."
He added, "We at Mukta Arts produced films like Aitraaz and Iqbal, and both were in budgets that were true to the stories, and it paid everyone."
Ghai, who has delivered some of the biggest hits, emphasized that every story should dictate its scale and budget.He said, "Every story decides its scale and cost of production and even suitable actors. The alluring entry of stars changes the whole scale of the script with big songs, actions, locales, and other aspects."
He elaborated, "When we enlarge the scale of a small, good story just because of the star's draw at the box office in the initial weeks, it goes haywire."

Ghai informed, "We produced 45 films, and I directed 18 movies, all with suitable budgets as per our stories. At Mukta Arts, we made 37 hits out of 45 at the box office."
Speaking about some films made in recent times, Ghai said, "The Kashmir Files, The Kerala Story, 12th Fail, and Shaitaan made good dividends because of good stories and viable budgets."

He acknowledged that stars are important for making big films and that producers do have to hire them. Ghai said, "Star-cast films also run when the stars follow stories, as in the case of Animal and Jawan. Some stories do demand stars, but producers must take care of the stories first during the making of the film."
When asked if stars need to take accountability and should have a clause in their contract to guarantee an opening at the box office, Ghai responded, "That is a fair deal, and some stars have started accepting profit sharing with smaller fees, and that's a better model."