Hoping to return to theatres after six years with a period thriller, director Abhishek Chaubey rues that the big screen has no place for small films
Abhishek Chaubey
Abhishek Chaubey hasn’t had a film play out on the big screen after Sonchiriya (2019). The director has been happy dabbling in digital entertainment with a segment in Ray (2021) and the web series, Killer Soup (2023). But now, the big screen is calling out to him. “I am currently writing a period thriller,” he reveals, hoping to take it to cinemas. “I have also written a show, a thriller [that explores] a social phenomenon. It’s set in Bihar. Now, I am at the mercy of the streamers,” he smiles.
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As he flirts with the idea of returning to the movie halls after over six years, the director is aware that a lot has changed in the theatrical space. Chaubey notes that the big screen has become synonymous with spectacles, leaving little room for small films to survive. “We are only making tentpole films. We must find a way for the middle-of-the-road films to have a well-marketed release and make sure that the audience goes to watch them. We have to find our mojo again,” he insists.
Citing the example of his debut film Ishqiya (2009), Chaubey points out how small films would find an audience 15 years ago. “Ishqiya is a small film, but Chandan theatre [in Juhu] ran housefull. Even a film that didn’t work at the box office would make enough money so as to not break the production company. Now, the star and marketing prowess of a big film, coupled with expensive tickets, are completely killing small films. Earlier, the audience that watched mainstream movies also watched a Gulzar or a Shyam Benegal offering. That was our culture. Today, that culture is dead.”
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