This year, several Bollywood blockbusters, including Aamir Khan and Kareena Kapoor Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha and Akshay Kumar’s Raksha Bandhan, dealt with boycott hashtags even before their release. Rakul Preet Singh says she is “anxious” about the release of her upcoming film Doctor G, co-starring Ayushmann Khurrana because a portion of social media rejects movies before they hit theatres.
The actor believes a film should be boycotted if it offends the audience’s sensibilities, but no one should “pre-empt” a film before its release. During an interview with Indianexpress.com, Rakul stated, “You should boycott something that affects a certain segment of society, but don’t start that conversation prematurely because it affects the entire filmmaking industry, not just the actors.”
She added that when a film is boycotted, the entire filmmaking process is affected. There will be fewer movies made and the business will suffer. Therefore, a chain is followed. Employment declines. When the government is working hard to improve the economy, we should not advocate for these things.”
In Doctor G, Rakul Preet Singh portrays a gynecologist named Fatima. A gynecologist who was present on the film’s set provided the actor with insight into the workings of a delivery room in order to prepare for her role. According to her, the film would be “entertaining” and have a social subtext.
During the free-flowing conversation, the actor discussed the recent underperformance of Bollywood films. She stated that the last two years have been extremely difficult for people and that they cannot watch a movie every Friday in a movie theatre.
“We have been experiencing extremely difficult times. People are still figuring out their lives. In the past two years, we were fortunate to have homes and not worry about food, whereas a significant portion of the population was struggling. So it is possible that cinema is not their primary source of entertainment currently. They must safeguard their future. If both movies are bad, then neither one is worth seeing. People cannot visit the theatres every week if a new film is released every week, Rakul explained.
However, from the perspective of a film producer, she added, “No films have been released in the past two years. Therefore, producers must also release their films. In the end, it’s a delicate time for cinema.”
Rakul will next be seen in Thank God, which also stars Sidharth Malhotra and Ajay Devgn. She has four other films in the works, including Indian 2 by Kamal Haasan.
READ: Karan Johar on why Shah Rukh Khan and Ranbir Kapoor did not come on Koffee with Karan 7
