Anupam Kher has strongly reacted to the latest trend of ‘boycott Bollywood’ on social media. While several celebrities including Arjun Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor have spoken out against the trend and how it’s been affecting the Hindi films, Kher, on the contrary, believes that no boycott trend can work against a film if it’s genuinely good.
During an interview on Times Now’s show Frankly Speaking, Kher said that not many people tweeted in favour of The Kashmir Files and yet it managed to do wonders at the box office. Kher also took a jibe at Aamir Khan, who previously spoke out about the boycott trend against his film Laal Singh Chaddha.
“Boycott se picture nahi chalti aisa bewakoofana hai (It’s nonsense to say that films don’t work because of boycott trends). Two-three years ago, makers would want that their film to create some kind of controversy so that people watch it. Yaar kuch controversay nikal aaye, kuch viral ho jaaye to ye picture humari chal jaaye. I know that I’m part of the system. Now, this boycott trend is happening but how does it matter? We were talking about Aamir recently, he made some statements earlier in 2015 after that Dangal came and became the biggest hit of all time in India. Did it affect his popularity or success? Everybody has freedom to express. If some people feel that they don’t want to watch a certain film then it’s their right. If a film is good and the audience likes it, there’s no way that it won’t do well,” Kher said.
Laal Singh Chaddha was one of the most awaited films of the year. It also marked Aamir Khan’s return to the big screen after a gap of four years. However, the film, which was released on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan, had an opening of Rs 12 crore, which had been the worst opening figure of any Aamir Khan film in the last 13 years. Kher, in his interview, was referring to Aamir Khan’s old remarks regarding intolerance in the country, which has said to have affected the business of Laal Singh Chaddha.
Kher also responded to criticism that The Kashmir Files was endorsed by the Modi government. “Not every critic deserves a reply. If Modi ji’s endorsement had been enough then Narendra Modi biopic would have been the biggest movie. People who are saying all these things, I’m sure they can go to the biggest people. Not many people tweeted about The Kashmir Files, but a lot of people tweeted about the recently released films. This is so juvenile. When our films work then everything is okay, jab humari picture nahi chalti toh sab ispe daal do ye BJP ke log hai ye Modi ji ke log hai (When our films don’t work then put the blame on BJP or Modi ji’s supporters). You are a bad loser,” Kher said.
Kher further took an indirect jibe at Aamir for his old statement regarding intolerance. “If people have not liked something you have done in your past then they have a right to sort of feel upset about it. It will come back to you.”
Meanwhile, Aamir Khan earlier confessed he was hurt when he saw the ‘boycott Laal Singh Chaddha’ trend on Twitter. He urged social media users to watch the film. During a roundtable interaction, when Aamir was asked about the trend, the actor admitted to being heartbroken. “I feel sad that some of the people who are saying this, in their hearts, believe that I am someone who doesn’t like India. But it is untrue. It is rather unfortunate that some people feel that way. That’s not the case. Please don’t boycott my film. Please watch my film,” Aamir said.
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