Content Driven Cinema Is The New Norm But Sanjay Gupta Is Certain That 'Action' Will Never Fail

Filmmaker Sanjay Gupta is known for his action thrillers and has created his own niche over the years.

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He is famously known for his films like Kaante, Shootout From Wadala, Aatish, Kaabil, Shootout at Lokhandwala, Jazbaa and Zinda. And now the filmmaker is back with Mumbai Saga which has John Abraham and Emraan Hashmi in pivotal roles.

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Indiatimes got into a conversation with Sanjay Gupta and spoke to him about the future of actions films and much more.

To begin with, we asked him what can the audiences expect from Mumbai Saga? Is it a typical Sanjay Gupta film, to which he confidently replied,

¡°On that level nobody will be disappointed. I have gone a little beyond. Also, by default because of COVID, I got extra time on packaging the film. The pace of the film is fantastic and it will keep you hooked and that¡¯s what one expects in a good entertainer¡±.

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When asked that just because he only makes action films, does it have a pressure on him, in terms of acceptance by the audiences, to which the filmmaker said,

¡°I never have that pressure as I make enjoyable films. I have created a niche for myself and I am very comfortable in it. I don¡¯t want to prove a point and say I can do comedy also, or drama, and again I am not consciously doing what I am doing or else I wouldn¡¯t have done a Kaabil or Jazbaa. Last time I did an underworld film was 8 years. But yes, I am comfortable in this genre and this space. And luckily I can¡¯t think of any other director who is doing this kind of work right now.¡±

It's often said that his films are not content driven but masala entertainers, to which he said,

¡°What we see on OTT platforms that is content, we should not include films in that content bucket. A film is a film - you go in a theatre to enjoy and have a good time. Classifying that as content isn't correct. Also, from this need to justify the content we have moved away from our mainstream movies, and that is what has happened and I am definitely not in favour of that.

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Further adding he said, "I am completely in a favour of movies should be movies and should be enjoyed on a big screen. Talking about our future of movies we are headed where Hollywood is, where typical films will lure the audience to the theatres and by default the smaller films will go on OTT platforms¡¯.

These days, many actors are choosing content drive films today and are not willing to do action movies , to which he replied,

¡°That is their individual choices. If Tiger Shroff is doing it , he is the most successful one and look at the numbers he is getting. One thing we have to understand is that action is a genre that never fails. An action is a universal genre. Action films all across the world are enjoyed by everyone. Action is a universal appeal. Yes, I am little surprised myself that our younger stars are not doing too much of action and I certainly think they should."

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"See every actor is looking for an action film but something that fits them. Like Vicky Kaushal did an URI and that made him a star he is today, rest he has done Masaan and others which are referred to as content driven but ultimately it was URI, an action and patriotic film that worked and made him a star, same goes with Tiger and Ranveer."

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Adding further he said, ¡°Ranveer Singh today is a super star because he has gone and done a Simmba, before that he has done a variety of movies like Gunday, Ram Leela, Bajirao Mastani, Padmaavat. Maybe they are not getting enough opportunities or maybe they are not looking for it. But I don¡¯t think after 10 years action will not exist. In fact, there are more young actors who are willing to do action film, for example there is Ahan Shetty(Suniel Shetty¡¯s son) who¡¯s film is ready and he has been groomed and promoted in that manner. So, action will always be around.¡±

Are you excited for Mumbai Saga?