EXCLUSIVE: Subhash Ghai asserts that tickets should not cross Rs. 150; says, “Agar star hi 70 percent budget le jayega, toh budget badega aur phir ticket prices bhi”

Subhash Ghai discusses the many factors that contribute to the increasing ticket prices in this conversation with Bollywood Hungama.

By Bollywood Hungama News Network -

November 10, 2022 - 2:00 PM IST

Known as the ‘Showman’ of Bollywood, Subhash Ghai has made some of the biggest films in tinsel town. While this filmmaker has given us masterpieces like Hero, Khalnayak, Pardes, among others spoke about the changing phase of Bollywood films and recalled the times when filmmaking was a different business altogether. In the recent interview with Bollywood Hungama, while discussing many aspects of cinema, the filmmaker discussed the main reason behind the humongous ticket prices and why filmmakers are unable to maintain the low ticket prices.

EXCLUSIVE: Subhash Ghai asserts that tickets should not cross Rs. 150; says, “Agar star hi 70 percent budget le jayega, toh budget badega aur phir ticket prices bhi”

Readers would be aware that post the pandemic, Bollywood films are being declared as ‘flops’ owing to many not being able to match up to garner collections that can match up to their humongous budgets. Speaking about it with Bollywood Hungama, Subhash Ghai revealed that from the ticket prices to the luxurious theater viewing experience, each of these factors contribute to the high-end ticket prices at multiplexes. “The whole geometry of finance has gone wrong. Asal mein ticket ke prices Rs. 100 – Rs. 150 ke upar honi hi nahi chahiye. Aap karke dekhiye choti aur badi filmein dono chalengi. Baaki yeh marketing, publicity kuch nahi hai. Log trailer se hi samaj jaate hain picture dekhni hai ki nahi aur woh aapke mobile pe aa jaata hai. (In reality, tickets shouldn’t be higher than Rs. 100 to Rs. 150. Reduce the ticket prices and you will realize that big and small films are both working well. All these marketing and publicity is nothing. As soon as people watch the trailer of the film, they decide whether they want to see the movie or no. And they can easily access it on their mobiles.)”

He added, “Star agar percentage correct mangega. Rs. 100 ki film ho – toh 15% star ko, 15% technicians ko, 40%-50% percent production ke liye, aise percentages hoti hai. Par agar star hi 70% le jaye toh main apne budget ko bada lunga. Aur wahan jaake muh ke bal giregi picture. (Stars need to charge correctly. Suppose, if a film charges Rs. 100, then 15% will go to the star, 15% to the technicians and about 40-50% to the production, that’s how percentages work. But if a star demands 70% of the budget, then I will have to increase it. And that’s when movies fail at the box office).”

Subhash Ghai, who also teaches filmmaking at his institute Whistling Woods, return to production in 2022 after seven years. Ever since he produced Hero, featuring the then-debutants Sooraj Pancholi (son of Aditya Pancholi) and Athiya Shetty (daughter of Suniel Shetty), Ghai stayed away from production. This film was a remake of his own film featuring Jackie Shroff and Meenakshi Seshadri made back in 1983. He also wrote the story of his latest release 36 Farmhouse that released in January 2022 and featured an ensemble cast.

Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Subhash Ghai reveals that why he didn’t sign Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit in Pardes