Tiger Shroff and Shraddha Kapoor's action flick 'Baaghi 3' witnessed a good jump on Sunday at the box office, as it surpassed the Rs 50 crore mark by the end of its first weekend. Despite the coronavirus outbreak, fans have stepped out and welcomed the film with open arms.
While Tiger Shroff fans are raving about the action scenes a section on social media criticised the film for lacking a logical plot which gave rise to a debate. ETimes got in touch with director Ahmed Khan asking him his response to the debate and will there be a Baaghi 4 in the making ? Here are excerpts from the chat.
Are you happy with the response that the film is getting from the audience?
'Baaghi 3' is supposed to entertain people in the action space so every time you give something new with a themed storyline they like it. If you see the reactions of the audience on Sunday, the film went on to earn around 20 crore which depicts that people have liked the film. Besides the scare which has taken over the entire world, people stepping out and watching the film has really been the best reaction to me.
How important are box office numbers for a film like this?
Yes, it is important and I'm very grateful to people for the love they have showered on Tiger and the film. It is overwhelming to see such a response even though the virus scare has taken over the country. We are really touched with the collections.
You have directed Tiger Shroff for the second time. What have you learnt from him?
There's a lot to learn from Tiger. He's a young guy with brilliant moves and he has already become a superstar. What people want is good looks, body, accent, dance, presentation and behaviour and that is what Tiger has in him. The bigger the boy gets, the humbler he is becoming so that's the best thing I have learnt from him.
Are you aware of the debate on social media discussing the absence of logic and plot in the film and the different opinions on the film?
Everyone has their right to place their point of view. I have nothing to say to such people. Everyone has their thought process. For example, if five people are staying in one house then they won't do the same thing at the same time. They all have their own mindset, so here we are talking about an entire Nation. What matters is what film are you going to make and if the audience is coming to watch your film or no. So one has to realize that we filmmakers don't do things for ourselves, we do it for the audience. There's one place to talk about sensible cinema and one to talk about commercial cinema.
If you talk about films which featured big stars like 'Chhapaak', they worked so hard getting the look of Deepika right, daily. I know how much hard work it takes for such roles. Similarly, with commercial films, Salman Khan's 'Dabangg 3', he did the same thing that he does and what people like but it's up to the people to accept it or not. It's a very tough medium that we live with every day and even while shooting, we do think if the audience will accept it or no. But you, in the end, you need to listen to your heart. When we thought about 'Baaghi 3', we were thinking if it would be possible to take the action to the next level. Now, people are saying that the action in 'Baaghi 3' is better than the second one so I think that the question of logic is irrelevant.
If I go for logic and give the same action then these people will say that the film isn't better than 'Baaghi 2'. On the other hand, if the same thing happens in Hollywood films like 'Fast & Furious', 'Hobbs and Shaw' then this question never pops up but when we try they are questioning our efforts. Why don't Indians appreciate Indian work? You see the latest trailer of 'Fast & Furious', then you may see a car hanging on the helicopter and what not and everyone is praising that. But when we try something new then they say 'where's the logic?'
In the end, we are doing it for the audience and what them to appreciate our work as we are trying our best. We have worked really hard in difficult conditions and with many even injuring themselves on the film's set. These people, who are talking negatively about the film are only making us stronger. They really make me stronger and pushing me further to make more action films. I will create more bigger action sequences for all my audience and not for those who keep talking on social media.
Will the franchise continue with another instalment? Will we see 'Baaghi 4'?
It all depends on my producers because they are the owner of the film. If we get such an enormous response like 'Baaghi 3' is currently getting, then we all would definitely want to make another one as the numbers are so encouraging.