Ajay Devgn addresses lower footfalls in theatres, says Bollywood filmmakers are trying to adapt to audiences' evolving tastes

At the trailer launch event of Raid 2, the sequel to his 2018 film Raid, Ajay Devgn addressed the challenge of bringing audiences to theatres and how filmmakers are trying to find a solution to create better content.

Devgn, who reprises the character of the honest and determined IRS officer Amay Patnaik from Raid, acknowledged the change noticed in the audience's perspective about cinema in a post-COVID world and the filmmakers' struggle to cater to their needs.

Speaking to the press, the actor-filmmaker said, "We're still struggling. We're not sure (about) what the audience would come in (theatres) for and what not. But we think we have an idea of how the audiences have evolved and changed during the pandemic. Also, too much exposure to international (content). We are adapting to it and that's how we are also changing... (we are) trying to figure things out."

Devgn, who had multiple box office flops recently, had one moderately successful film in Singham Again, directed by Rohit Shetty. His last major hit was Maidaan, released in 2023. A supernatural thriller, the film co-starred R Madhavan and Jyothika. Notably, it was an adaptation of the Gujarathi horror thriller Vash, from the same year.

Devgn feels that the crisis is not confined to Bollywood alone and that film industries across the world are experiencing the same problem. "It's not that Bollywood films are not working. Films from all over the world... Some are working and some are not working. It could be Bollywood, it could be the South film industry or Hollywood. The situation is the same everywhere," he said.

Ruling out movie ticket prices as the reason for fewer people coming to theatres, Devgn said audiences are being selective these days and aren't easily lured by every promotional material and that the trailers and songs should feel strongly appealing to them.

"They want content. If your trailer or teaser (is liked by the audience), or if they like the songs, the audience definitely comes. Basically, it all boils down to what they want to see and if they are getting it in the trailer or not," he said.

Raid 2 will be hitting theatres on May 1. Directed by Raj Kumar Gupta who also directed the original, the film also features Vaani Kapoor (replacing Ileana D'Cruz), Rajat Kapoor and Riteish Deshmukh (as the antagonist).

Kumar Mangat Pathak and Abhishek Pathak of Panorama Studios jointly bankrolled the film with Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar of T-Series.

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