Ghalib Asad Bhopali: Only good content can attract audience, formula can’t!

Babumoshai Bandookbaz writer-lyricist Ghalib Asad Bhopali feels post pandemic, with a major change in viewer mindset and economic constraints, cinema viewing has completely changed. He asserts that “the job of writer has become tough and it’s now very challenging to be in the audience at the cinema”.

The writer is of the view that cinema viewing pattern has changed 360 degrees. “Pre-pandemic audience used to think to watching films in hall with experience else film utar jayegi. Now, they feel no problem we will watch on OTT or even skip there as well. Same is with web-series, they are coming in abundance but how many do we watch?” says the Bicchoo Ka Khel (2020) writer.

Bhopali explains the reason behind more formula projects being made. He adds, “I feel the makers now go for the formula over content which is the reason projects are not working. When some project becomes successful it becomes a formula which brings oversupply and things start falling apart. Even with star-power in films it is not working. All Southern films are also not working as well. Only good content can attract an audience, formula can’t. This makes the work of writers tougher, and we are trying our best to learn from the mistakes and studying the behavioural changes,” he asserts.

Giving example of trend of movies being shot in Uttar Pradesh, he says, “I wrote Babumoshai… (2017), Bicchoo… and Jogira Sara Ra Ra that were rooted in heartland and were Lucknow-Varanasi stories. In the same period, came films like Bareilly Ki Barfi, shows like Mirzapur, Bhaukaal and makers made it formula and projects started to be based in UP with business point of view and not due to its merit. I personally feel making films on formula is harming cinema viewing big time. We have seen this in Punjab and now it’s an overdose of UP based stories!”

After doing back-to-back projects in the state, he amended his project. “We have already shot a web film Kun Faya Kun with Harshvardhan Rane and Sanjeeda Sheikh in Mahabeshwar which will stream in a few months. We are going to shoot a film in London. Besides, I wrote a project which we were again setting in Lucknow-Kanpur, but we decided to tweak it and set it in an imaginary location so everyone can connect with it,” says the Bhindi Bazaar Inc writer.

Bhopali is confident this phase too will pass. “We have seen the phase of TV serials, VCR-DVDs, satellite TV and now its OTT. Cinema has charmed audience and it will continue to do that. This is just a phase and this too will pass,” he says on signing off note