ACTOR Ajay Devgn recently said the Hindi film industry has to catch up with audiences who are now exposed to international and regional cinema and have become more discerning about what they want to watch. Devgn, who has been in the movie industry for over three decades, said filmmakers cannot assume that a formula that worked in the past will continue to find an audience, as viewers are constantly evolving. "I don't think we are reinventing ourselves; we are playing catch-up with the audience's game. We've realised this after the pandemic: the audiences were sitting at home and had consumed international and national cinema. "When things opened up and we started putting things out, we realised that they've gone far ahead and we need to catch up with them," the actor said. Admitting that it is difficult to liveup to the audience expectations, Devgn said the process of adapting to changing audience expectations has to be continuous effort. "I do not believe that what has worked until this moment will definitely work tomorrow. So, the way the audience is evolving, it is difficult to catch up, and they are running. So, we've to keep improvising, learning, pushing our boundaries, because they are the smart ones.We can't fool them." The 57-year-old actor pointed out that the changing audience preferences has also affected the boxoffice performance of movies. "Today, numbers will only follow if you've made a good film; otherwise, the numbers will not follow you. Earlier, the numbers would follow in spite of you not making a great film also. But today it (the film) will crash on the second day," he said. Devgn believes Hindi cinema faces an additional challenge because of the diversity of its potential audience, compared to regional and international cinema.

 

"I'm not taking away credit from any other cinema. It is difficult to make films everywhere whether it is international or traditional cinema. But, personally, I feel that making a Hindi film is most difficult because you do not know who your target audience is," he said. "When you make a Punjabi film, Tamil or Telugu film, you know your audience as it is for a certain region. But for a Hindi film to get numbers, things are not the same, as every 80 to 90 km the language and thought process change. Like, there is mass and class audience, so either one section of the audience likes it or the other doesn't. Even in international cinema, they know their target audience... But here, we must target everybody, and how do you appeal to everyone?" The actor, who is excited about release of Drishyam 3, said the longevity of franchises ultimately depend on audiences developing an attachment to their central characters. The first part of the crime drama film released in 2015, followed by another in 2022, and Drishyam 3 released on October 2. "Sequels don't work, the characters work. If you pick up any sequel, Golmaal or Singham, or Drishyam, it's Vijay Sargaonkar or a Gopal, or a Singham.When the audiences start investing in the character, then you can make sequels. You can't just make a sequel because you made a great film and it worked. They have to love the character," Devgn said. Stating that it is not easy to write a film like Drishyam, Devgn revealed that the director and writers rejected four different scripts before arriving at one that worked for the franchise. "We've to make sure of the twists and the turns, the shock value, and what Vijay Salgaonkar will do that is unexpected. If the audience knows what is going to happen next, then Drishyam cannot work," he said, adding that it was a conscious decision of the team to conclude the franchise on a high note with the third part.