New Delhi: Producer Vipul Shah speaks to News9 Digital about The Kerala Story, Raid 2 and more.
Two years of The Kerala Story
I was not only the producer but also the creative director of The Kerala Story. I believed that this could become one of the most important films of my career. When I read the two-pager, I felt I should stop everything else and focus on this film. When a powerful film is in the making, you can see that the involvement of every department is greater than usual. You get a sense that something significant is developing, and it will have a major impact. I was pleased that the film had touched so many people’s hearts.
Were you aware of the elements shown in the film when the subject came to you?
To be very honest, I was not aware that it was happening on such a big level. When Sudipto Sen (director) came to me with the story, I asked him for evidence. He showed me many videos where girls had given their testimonies. I went to Kerala to see the ground reality, and we did research again from zero. I also watched the documentary made by Sudipto Sen on the same subject. I was shocked to know that nobody was talking about this subject. So, I decided to make this film boldly and with honesty. I think we made a fearless film, and it had an impact on the people.
You were questioned about the evidence even when the film was released.
When you catch a thief, he doesn’t admit to theft. So, we knew that there would be objections to the film. People questioned how we arrived at the number of 32000 victims. So, we released a 17-minute-long video on YouTube to address that claim.
YouTuber Dhruv Rathee made a video criticising The Kerala Story. He challenged the numbers to be false. He said that he has a big research team. So, we challenged his claim by showing the evidence from a Vidhan Sabha document and asked him to reply. There’s no reply from Rathee or his research team. It’s easy to discredit someone and disappear. Many youngsters in this country believe everything Dhruv Rathee says is true. A lot of criticism was silenced after we put out the video on YouTube. We even sent it to news channels, saying a debate on this needs to be held for the country. If people had known that 32,000 was a fact, they would have realized the seriousness of this issue. But nobody came for a debate. Anyway, the film did well in theatres as well as on OTT. Had this been a scandalous, false film, it wouldn’t have reached so many people.
Does controversy help a film?
When many people speak for or against a film, people are curious to watch the film. So, controversy benefits a film to a certain extent. But if the film doesn’t have merit, it doesn’t stay alive in theatres after the opening weekend. The Kerala Story’s second weekend was bigger than the first weekend. Its third weekend was as big as the first one.
What happened to those girls?
These girls stay at the Arsha Vidya Samajam in Kerala because it’s difficult for them to go back to their homes. Their safety is always in danger, but they have found a voice after The Kerala Story. They are trying to build an ashram for themselves, they’ve written a book, and they’re trying to educate other females so that they can protect themselves from such situations. They are brave girls.
What have you done for the girls?
We try to do the best we can. When our film did well, we donated a sizeable amount for the construction of their ashram. We hope more people help them and that their ashram is built soon.
Do you still hear about such cases happening in Kerala?
After the film’s release and success, many people from Kerala have told us that the cases have reduced by half. But it was sad to know that in the Mira Bhayander area of Mumbai, 27 minor girls have been trapped in such cases in the last few months. The people who came to me are trying to save girls from such happenings. They wanted to give me data on the various organizations that are fighting such causes. Many people have told me that the lives of their daughters have been saved because of The Kerala Story. Women from Kolhapur, Nagpur, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and, of course, Kerala have reached out to me. I think this is the biggest success of The Kerala Story that we could help so many lives.
Do you want to make more films based on such subjects?
Yes, provided that they are real issues and the script is research-based. I think a film alone is not enough to expose the seriousness of such subjects. If any other material comes to us, we would think about how to take such stories forward.
Are stars not needed to make such films a hit?
Film stars have their role in the movie business. We often simplify that films with stars work and films without stars don’t work. It’s not like that. Stars have had a strong connection with the audience for decades. I think we need to make all kinds of films – with stars and without stars. We need to groom a new generation of actors. We don’t have enough heroes. We have often had 10-12 heroes, whereas we need 30-40. So, we need to give opportunities to new boys and girls. We need to make hard-hitting films that do not need a big star cast. Also, make big star-cast films that people like to watch. Our industry will prosper and progress when we make a mix of all kinds of films.
Is OTT a bane or a boon? Do you agree with Aamir Khan’s statement that the 8-week gap between a film’s theatrical release and OTT release is too short?
I strongly believe that the gap should be 16 weeks, and we as an industry need to take a stand on this. If the film is not going to be available on OTT for 16 weeks, they will make an effort to come to the theatres. Complacency has creeped in among the audience – “The film will come on OTT in the next 6-8 weeks, so let’s wait and watch later”. We are damaging that enthusiasm. This decision cannot be taken single-handedly by one producer. We have to collectively think about the industry’s policy on this.
See, there’s no harm for OTT in this. People will watch the film on OTT sooner or later. But this 16-week gap can help revive the theatrical business. I heard Aamir Khan’s statement, and I agree with him that this OTT window should be increased.
But Chhaava did great numbers. Raid 2 is doing well, steadily.
Both films have well-known stars. Ajay Devgn has a 30-year-long career. Everyone from cities to villages knows him. He has his aura and star power. Raid was a Box Office success. So, naturally, the sequel will have some following. It’s directed by an able director, Raj Kumar Gupta. It’s written by Ritesh Shah and Karan Vyas. There’s an addition of Riteish Deshmukh to the cast. So, there’s a natural inclusiveness and attraction towards Raid 2.
The same thing happened with Kesari: Chapter 2. People saw Akshay Kumar in a new avatar. There was R. Madhavan also in the film. As for Chhaava, Vicky Kaushal is a young, powerful actor of today’s generation. It was a well-made film.
I don’t think we can have a theatre vs OTT discussion based on these three films alone. Many films are not able to do well at the box office because of the short OTT window. A longer window will help you if your film is not that big.
Remember that 8-10 films a year need to do great business. But it’s also important that 50-60 small or medium budget films do well at the box office. That’s how the film industry will benefit.
What should the film industry do as a course correction?
I have been saying this for a long time that we should stop making films for 50-100 multiplexes. We should be making films for Bharat. There’s a huge audience beyond these 100 multiplexes. We release our films in 5000 screens, but only about 100 multiplex audiences appreciate them. And we are happy with that. We have a huge audience. The types of audiences change every 150-200 kilometres. We are moving away from the kinds of films we should be making to cater to this variety of audiences. The success of recent films shows what the audience wants to watch in theatres. All our problems will be solved when we start making films for Bharat.
What is your take on a 100% tariff on cinema as announced by US President Donald Trump?
There are many factors. First of all, that policy has not been implemented. That policy document needs to be studied. Secondly, the USA contributes only 5-7% of the total business of Indian films. Maximum 8-9% if the film has done extraordinarily well. After tariffs, it won’t come to zero. We may face a 2-3% loss in business, which is not a big loss that will cause damage to our industry.
If we apply a counter tariff, Hollywood would have to bear the losses too. India and the USA are working on a trade deal, which is expected to be completed before October this year. We believe that our government will make this a part of the trade deal and solve this issue. I don’t see this as a problem that will exist for a long time, at least today.
They have said that tariffs will also be applied on the films releasing directly on OTT, which the USA audience would watch on Netflix, Amazon, etc. Netflix and Amazon are American companies. How will they force tariffs on American companies? So, many things are not clear yet.
Paid promotion and paid reviews.
There’s no restriction in our industry. Any person can publish any number. I want the government to bring a law that says you have to pay tax on the number you publish. That will be considered as your film’s income. It won’t matter what your balance sheet says. I believe feeding false numbers is breaching the trust of the audience. When you claim that your film is doing great numbers, people feel tempted to watch the film. This is in my mind, cheating. If we stop such practices of publishing inflated numbers, it will help our industry in the long run.