While fans are awaiting two of the biggest upcoming releases — Ranbir Kapoor’s Ramayana and Mahesh Babu’s Varanasi — much of the conversation around these films has centred on the massive budgets they are reportedly mounted on. Recently, critically acclaimed actor Manoj Bajpayee called out the trend and also schooled audiences for giving more importance to a film’s budget than its content.
'Promoting films on budget a PR tactic'
When asked about how the makers of Ramayana and Varanasi are promoting their films by highlighting their budgets, which run into hundreds and thousands of crores, Manoj told YouTube channel Kadak, "Woh ek PR ka zariya hota hai (This is a PR tactic), because this kind of talk have been happening from the last 15 years."
'Audience doesn't get a rupee of this money'
Blaming the audience for hyping films based on their budgets and box office numbers, he said, "This has become so infectious that sometimes any audience member who meets me at the airport they start talking about numbers of a film. I have often scolded them saying that 'This money is not going in your own bank account. If this is going in your bank account, then you talk about the box office numbers of a film. You should talk about whether you like the film or not. These ₹500-600 crore that they are talking about, not even one rupee is being given to you.' So the audience have to understand that their only connection to the film is whether they like it or not, other things shouldn’t matter to them. A film's business is only a producer's prerogative."
About Ramayana and Varanasi
As per reports, the Ramayana series (Part 1 and Part 2) is being touted as the most expensive film project in the history of Indian cinema, with a staggering combined budget of ₹4,000 crore. The film stars Ranbir Kapoor in the lead role of Lord Ram, while Sai Pallavi will play the role of Sita. Sunny Deol has been cast as Hanuman, Ravi Dubey will portray Lakshman, and Yash will be seen as Ravana. The first part of the film is slated to release on Diwali this year.
SS Rajamouli’s upcoming film Varanasi, on the other hand, is reportedly mounted on an estimated budget of ₹1,400 crore. The film stars Mahesh Babu in the lead role and also marks Priyanka Chopra’s return to Indian cinema. The project is also notable for being the first Indian film to be shot entirely in the 1.43:1 IMAX format.