Kiran Rao Calls Bollywood “Dhobi Ka Kutta,” Cites Lack Of State Support
Kiran Rao argued that comparing Bollywood to Southern film industries is unfair, as Hindi cinema lacks a state identity and receives no government patronage unlike its regional counterparts.
Kiran Rao’s last directorial ‘Laapataa Ladies’ may have earned critical acclaim and performed strongly on Netflix India, but its theatrical business struggled, managing to only make Rs 20.58 crore in India and Rs 27 crore worldwide. Interestingly, Kiran Rao has now revealed that the film’s theatrical run actually got a boost after its digital release, a rare phenomenon in the current landscape.
Speaking about the film’s journey, Kiran Rao explained, “It had a very short window before going to OTT, which we were worried about because the film was getting such good word of mouth and it was playing well in cinemas. The second it got on Netflix, it actually amplified our word of mouth and our theatrical revenue actually went up. It went on to do well in theatres for a good month after Netflix release before it petered off. And that’s pretty rare. That really shows you that these platforms aren’t really competitive.”
On ‘The Streaming Show’, she expressed relief that ‘Laapataa Ladies’ held its own on Netflix, performing as well as Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s 2023 blockbuster ‘Animal’ – despite lacking big stars or high-octane action. She acknowledged that South filmmakers like Sandeep Reddy Vanga, and industries behind films such as ‘Pushpa’, ‘KGF’, and ‘Kantara’, have been faring better than their Hindi counterparts in recent years.
Kiran also argued that the Hindi film industry is disadvantaged compared to regional industries. “We are not, as a film industry, supported by any state government. Even in Uttar Pradesh, we’re not the state language, Bhojpuri is. In every other state, the state takes ownership and the film industry is treated with the same regard as any other industry,” she said.
She described Bollywood as “dhobi ka kutta,” caught between worlds and often dismissed. “It feels really sad. We get all the brickbats. Everybody keeps talking about how bad Hindi films are and they’re never successful. Within the industry, we’re just a mammoth beast and there’s no one organization that can take decisions for everyone. So, we’re in a tricky spot,” Kiran added.
Reflecting on the challenges she faced promoting ‘Laapataa Ladies’, Kiran Rao admitted she learned that heavy marketing spends don’t guarantee results.
“Marketing is really like shooting in the dark at this point. Even cinemas, which are should be excited to show your trailers, don’t show them so you have to tag your trailer onto another film. You should have trailer programming in cinemas. I have to beg them to play my trailer. Sometimes, you have to pay them to play your trailer, just like you pay for an ad. It makes no sense to me,” the filmmaker said.
Kiran Rao reiterated that the theatrical distribution and exhibition system is “broken,” leaving OTT platforms to capitalize on its failures.
“OTT is benefitting from a lot of failures of our cinema system,” she said, while also urging platforms to release more granular data to filmmakers so they can create content in a more informed way.
