Shekhar Kapur Reflects on Masoom's Turbulent Box Office Journey
Renowned filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, celebrated for classics like Masoom, Mr. India, and Bandit Queen, recently took to social media to recount the tumultuous beginning of his directorial debut. In a candid post, he revealed that Masoom faced a disastrous opening, leading him to believe his career was over, only for the film to miraculously transform into a hit within days.
A Disheartening First Day Experience
Kapur described visiting a major theatre on the first day of Masoom's release, only to find it nearly empty. "On the first day of release, I went to the main theatre... and there were only two people in the whole cinema hall... and one of them was me!" he wrote. This bleak scene set the stage for a series of challenges that tested his resolve as a new director.
Confrontation with Angry Black Marketers
Outside the theatre, Kapur was surrounded by a group of furious young men involved in ticket black marketing, a prevalent practice at the time where seats were bought and resold at higher prices. "They had lost their money that day," he recalled, explaining their anger. One of them, taking pity on his crestfallen appearance, offered blunt advice: "Sir... the problem is you've made an 'article' film... if you want a career, don't do that." Kapur later realized the term "article film" was a mispronunciation of "artistic film," a warning against making non-commercial cinema.
Distributors Pull the Plug
From Friday through Tuesday, cinema halls remained deserted, prompting distributors to withdraw the film from theatres. Kapur shared his despair, "I walked the streets of Mumbai and thought about what I was going to do next in my life, for making films was certainly no longer an option." This period marked a low point, with the film seemingly doomed to failure.
The Mysterious Turnaround
However, the tide turned unexpectedly on Thursday. A friend called Kapur asking for tickets, which he dismissed as a joke, only to learn that one cinema hall had suddenly filled up. By Friday, lines formed outside theatres, and over the weekend, distributors scrambled to reclaim halls they had abandoned. "My 'Article' film was declared a hit," Kapur noted, describing it as a mystery. While many attribute the success to word of mouth, he wonders how that spread when initially, almost no one had seen the film.
Looking Ahead to Masoom: The Next Generation
As Kapur prepares for his upcoming project, Masoom: The Next Generation, a spiritual sequel to the 1983 classic, he ponders whether this new venture will also be labeled an "article film." The sequel will feature original stars Shabana Azmi and Naseeruddin Shah, alongside Manoj Bajpayee and Nithya Menen, with Kapur's daughter Kaveri also appearing. It aims to explore contemporary themes of home, belonging, and personal identity.
Reflecting on his career shift after Masoom to films like Bandit Queen, Kapur acknowledged the anger and social commentary in his later work, contrasting it with the beauty of his earlier projects. This journey from flop to cult hit underscores the unpredictable nature of cinema and Kapur's enduring legacy in Bollywood.
