Vivek Agnihotri slams Bollywood ‘Shahenshahs' who wave at crowds from balconies, inflate box office to make it seem like ‘Tiger Zinda Hai'

Indian Express

17-06-2025

Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri said that the practice of inflating box office collections is conducted only to boost the egos of movie stars. In recent years, it has been observed that several production houses buy tickets of their own movies in bulk, giving the impression that their films are a hit. In an interview, Agnihotri appeared to make references about three leading male movie stars: Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, and Salman Khan. He was, however, extremely appreciative of Aamir Khan. He said that Aamir has changed the face of Hindi movies with his unconventional choices.
In an interview with Shubhankar Mishra, he said, 'There was a time when the industry would take political stands. They would collect money in the event of earthquakes and floods. They'd go out on trucks. Sunil Dutt was the original Congressman who went on a march from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. But these days, movie stars are happy to wave at thousands of people from their houses. I don't like that. They don't want to get their hands dirty. You are not a Shahenshah. Simply tweeting about an issue isn't enough.' Asked if this was a dig at Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan, who are popularly known as Shahenshah and Badshah, Agnihotri said that he didn't mean it.'
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He continued, 'The film industry was at the forefront of every movement. Now they travel by chartered planes. They've ruined the country. They've turned Bollywood into a 'shampoo conditioner' industry. You've attached the industry to sex and glamour. Wasn't Deewaar about the nation? Weren't the films written by Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar about the nation? These days, the only person that the hero is fighting is his girlfriend's father. They've dumbed the industry down.'
Asked about the practice of corporate bookings, Agnihotri said that the audience is too smart to be fooled by such tactics. This practice is done only to boost the egos of actors, he said. 'People have rate cards, this is an open secret… These are fraud numbers, this is done to satisfy the star's ego. They do this only to make the star feel like he's still alive, that Tiger Zinda Hai,' he said, seemingly making a reference to Salman Khan's hit film.