Image instagrammed by Yash Raj, a still from Pathaan. (courtesy: YashRajFilmsTalent)
New Delhi:
Rani Mukerji, who has been married to producer Aditya Chopra since 2014, talked about how Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan became a gamechanger for Yash Raj films after it saw a string of flops in a row at the FICCI Frames event in Mumbai. Rani Mukerji also spoke about her husband who listened to his heart and asserted on the films’ theatrical releases amid Pandemic. Rani Mukerji said at the event, “In time when the films came, all of those films flopped because the whole way the audience watched content changed overnight because of OTT. All these films failed at the box office and it took a complete hit commercially because none of the films did well. It was like complete depression. People were sad in our company and the whole conviction that Adi stood with that his movies would be released theatrically.”
She added, “We thought that there would be some divine intervention and that he would be rewarded for his conviction of releasing films theatrically, and everything kind of didn’t work for us. Then came Pathaan. It changed the entire thing forward at Yash Raj. And it became the highest-grossing film.” FYI, Pathaan starring Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and John Abraham became one of the highest grossing films of 2023.
Rani Mukerji concluded her speech with these words, “So when you ask me, what are the things that need to change is, filmmakers need to have more faith in the product that they make, and they should believe in it and stand with each other to make that change. Today, Pathaan stood the test of time and opened the floodgates for people going into cinemas.”
ICYDK, during 2021-2022, when pandemic crippled the film industry and in a way discouraged cine lovers from visiting the theatres, films like Bunty Aur Babli 2 (2021), Jayeshbhai Jordaar (2022), Samrat Prithviraj (2022), Shamshera (2022) were released under Yash Raj Film’s banner. In Bunty Aur Babli 2, the OG Babli Rani Mukerji featured with Saif Ali Khan and new entrants Siddhant Chaturvedi and Sharvari. But none of these big-ticket films worked at the box office. Pathaan not only opened the floodgates for cine lovers, Shah Rukh Khan also made a much-needed comeback with this film. After Pathaan, Shah Rukh Khan gave one more blockbuster – Jawan. He ended the year with Dunki, which received a mixed response from the audience.
