The film industry is seeing huge negativity across the digital world and it is pretty much the fault of the film industry as they never needed social media but generally the marquee names decided to be there or their PR companies decided it was a must. 

There may be some films which need the help of social media but for the genuine films which the audience will give a try initially it hardly makes a difference. The big stars hold huge popularity across the country but by coming on social media you cannot win as any quote can be twisted to mean something else. You may have had a certain view five years back and if that view changes then the old view is there on record and it will be pulled up. If it was about work only then would not be okay but here if a big name forgets an Independence Day you will become anti nationalist though for normal people its not an issue. Forgetting to wish for a major festival can make you racist. Also people sitting behind a desk or on a phone can use a tone and language which they would not use in person as you are not face to face.  

The film industry has been pretty much self-sufficient since the beginning and there has never been much help from the outside be it the government or elsewhere. There was a time in 90's that underworld money came into the industry but even here the real production houses and filmmakers continued to finance themselves with their various distributors across the country. There was even all these Mumbai underworld films made also where even the biggest of them were duds outside Mumbai / Maharashtra / Nizam but as it was close to home for the industry they made these films..

The reason for the film industry remaining self-sufficient is the support of the paying public which has always been there for good films. There will be many films that will not do well but the public comes in hordes for epic films like Gadar or Bahubali - The Conclusion and this is what always gives hope. There may be this huge negativity in the digital world but if there is good cinema then that paying public will support like always as they also want entertainment.

Sadly even here a lot of the industry does not go by this paying public which is the bottom line and instead make films according to what is said. It does not cost any money to shout your mouth off and there are actually people in the industry who will say Gully Boy is better than Gadar. It is a huge joke and they are mad but as mentioned it does not cost anything to open your mouth and speak crap. Now in this scenario these people should also believe what is being said about the industry as here its not costing anyone to open their mouths also.

The filmi media is also getting the treatment on digital and social media but here its probably deserved as they have probably been negative towards Sushant Singh Rajput and now he is dead so it comes back. These people will have to suffer as they are nothing without the digital world but for the industry its not about this and still about that Friday. The national media on the other hand is painting the picture that the film industry ganged up on Sushant Singh Rajput but the problem with this theory is that the industry does not have a spine and it is not one so it cant gang up on anyone. If the film industry was one and had a spine then this backlash would not happen. 

There is the scenario of Covid 19 and this negativity but this break does give the industry a chance to get its act together and remember its about the cinema you create and nothing else. The big names in the industry do not need social media and it would actually be better for the industry in the long run if the big names are not there. Its far better leaving than taking the insults as you dont need really need ut but again you have to be one and have a spine to do this. Yes the fans will miss but as long as the big box office numbers come for their favourite stars they will not mind one bit.

Obviously the thought will be that this Sushant Singh Rajput issue will run its course but it wont be too long when something else comes up as the industry is a very soft target. You are a target when you are accessible and social media makes you accessible. Here the industry can learn from Ranbir Kapoor and Aditya Chopra, they dont have a presence but Aditya Chopra is still the biggest producer in town and Ranbir Kapoor is the only actor in the last decade or so to create a genuine box office initial draw in a couple of circuits. At the end of the day you dont need to show the world you exist everyday as a good Friday WILL show you exist and in a far better way.

The break can also help can also make the industry rethink about how its promoting films as post covid 19 the industry does not need this digital promotion which it has been doing for years. A trailer of the film hits the digital world and a good cast film and gets 50m or 100 million views or even more. Then you turn up a week or two before release promoting on the same platform doing stupid interviews repeatedly which are a pure bore and not only are you repeating the same thing with different journos who have no clue you had done the same thing for your last film. On top your trailer has fetched a certain numbers of views on the digital platform and none of these joke interviews will even get close to these views meaning you had already reached this audience with your trailer and now these poor interviews actually can do more harm than good. The way this was going was that it looked the promotions would have gone to Tik Tok soon enough but luckily that has been banned in India. Television is fine for promotions as thats a different platform and another audience. Sometimes some television programs refuse promotion of a certain films as they think it will hit their brand value while filmmakers who are creating cinema which is far bigger than televsion go anywhere to promote their films acting like donkeys rather than stallions (cinema is the stallion in the entertainment world).

The film industry has to start thinking about disconnecting from this digital and social media world as these things dont make much a difference to the Friday which is the bottom line. Obviously, the thought is that you must have a presence all the time but in truth absence makes the heart grow fonder and more so in the world of cinema.