New Delhi: In an uncertain period for independent film, director Vishal Bhardwaj has described 12th Fail's success as an encouraging sign for the genre. According to the news agency PTI, Vishal said that the independent film industry has grown and is currently "regressing."
Independent cinema has come a long way, according to Vishal, who made this statement at a press conference for the Jaipur Literature Festival in 2024.
The filmmaker said, "It progressed and is now regressing. What's responsible for that, we all are exploring. There was a time when Haider, Maqbool, Omkara, which still had commercial stars, but films like Dev D and Oye Lucky Lucky Oy, we used to easily get money to make those kinds of films. Now it's very difficult to raise money for these kind of films because everyone is scared, everyone is exploring 'ki kya chalega theatres mein' (what will work in theatres)."
While speaking of Vikrant Massey starrer '12th Fail', Vishal said, "A silver lining in this is the success of 12th Fail. There is no star, there is no weirdness, the background score is also beautiful. It is pure filmmaking by Vidhu Vinod Chopra and I think this is his best film. To see the kind of success and love the film got, if there is a silver lining that the audience is there to watch every kind of film but it must be worth it for them to come to theatres. So we all are exploring whether a film like Animal will work or a film like Jawan or Pathaan or a mindless south Indian action film. It is all imbalanced."
The story of Manoj Kumar Sharma, who rose from a life of misery to become an IPS officer, is told in the film. The '12th Fail' film directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra did remarkably well. It was carried out on a Rs 20 crore reported budget. The film's box office earnings have surpassed Rs 70 crore.