How to deal with flops

After Humshakals was criticised by viewers and critics, actor Saif Ali Khan too trashed the film, saying it was regressive and he regretted being a part of it and underestimating his audience’s intelligence.

But how difficult is it for a director to stand by his own project, when the lead actor slams it by saying the film didn’t have a script to begin with? Director Teja, who has worked in Tollywood and Bollywood and directed films like Nuvvu Nenu, Jai and Nijam, feels that it is unfair of any actor to wash his hands off a project when it has failed.

“And in Saif’s case, he had a triple role in the film and he practically occupied 80 per cent of the screen space. How could it be that he of all people didn’t know what was going on?” he says.

Filmmakers Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K., who have directed films like Shor in the City and Go Goa Gone, have managed to get things going, and are working on their next film Happy Endings, even though Go Goa Gone didn’t fare very well at the box office.

“When a film doesn’t do well, it is a huge baggage for the filmmaker, actors and producers alike. However, we haven’t been in that position yet and have got our next project going. It’s important that as directors we don’t consider our last film a setback, but learn from the mistakes and come back with something better,” says Raj.

Screenwriter and director Habib Faisal, who has made films like Ishaqzaade and the upcoming Daawat-e-Ishq, says, “It is an occupational hazard, but all you can do as a filmmaker is to make sure you commit to your films and make them the best you can. And even if a film doesn’t do well, you have to get your energy back and get back to making films. If Anurag Basu stopped making films after Kites, Barfi would have never happened.”

“There are two kinds of directors. First the creative ones, like Mani Ratnam, whose scripts have a distinct spike, helping the filmmaker get popular actors on board even if their previous films haven’t done well. Second are the commercial directors, who don’t really set any trends, because they present the same stories in new packages. And for the latter, if they don’t manage to get a good collection, it becomes difficult to either get big names or the required funding for an upcoming project,” adds Teja.