After the pandemic, the Bollywood industry suffered a lot as it became extremely difficult for filmmakers to attract audiences to theatres. Between 2020 and 2022, there were a few hits, but many turned out to be big flops, which pushed the industry into a slump. A few even doubted the future prospects of Hindi cinema.
It was when King Khan’s Pathaan hit the screens and changed the tides. Regarding the same actress, Rani Mukerji, the wife of YRF Chairman Aditya Chopra, made some interesting comments. She said, “We had a couple of big films that were to be released. Those movies commenced before the pandemic. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, there were no signs of film releases.”
Rani Mukerji continued, “The filmmakers were forced to release their movies directly on digital platforms. Even the biggest movies were releasing on OTT. Aditya Chopra didn’t succumb to the pressure. Many streaming platforms approached us, but Aditya was pretty sure his films were meant for theatres. Even those movies that were released in theatres failed because the way people look at cinema has changed. Everyone in our YRF office was very sad and depressed. That was when Pathaan came, and the rest is history. It became the highest-grossing film. The film changed everything for YRF and helped in the revival.”
