MUMBAI: Before a film hits cinema houses, some Bollywood filmmakers often keep multiple screenings for the fraternity, but director Kabir Khan said he usually does not buy the feedback given by his peers.
The “Tubelight” director said, for him, the reaction of the audiences is what matters the most.
Kabir said, “Very rarely feedback at trial shows are genuine. Arshad Warsi once said ‘let’s go for trial show, it’s releasing in two days’… People are talking good things. (But) I don’t take it seriously. If kept for friends then I take it. Bollywood trials (I) don’t trust. Salman (Khan) once told me, after the screening the director who is silent has liked the film.”
“Dangal” filmmaker Nitesh Tiwari shared a similar opinion.
“I am more interested in the audience’s reaction… That is the genuine feedback. I don’t take reviews seriously,” he said.
The two directors were present at the Jio MAMI Movie Mela event along with Anurag Kashyap, Alankrita Shrivastava and Ayan Mukherjee.
Kabir recalled a lesson from legendary filmmaker Yash Chopra that if he was unhappy with a scene then it would not be part of the film for the sake of it.
“We usually write scenes, and he (Chopra) was like ‘let’s shoot and see’. I learnt if the scene doesn’t look good on paper then remove it. Don’t do it, don’t waste resources.”
While Nitesh said, filmmaker Rajkumar Hirani told him the first film always has the innocence and one should not get corrupt with time.
“Raju Hirani told me first film is an innocent film. Afterwards (you get) caught with commercial (part) and whenever you feel caught up on this, you look at the first film,” he said. (AGENCIES)