'Sky Force,' 'Chhaava' box office figures inflated? Director responds
What's the story
The box office collection of Akshay Kumar's last month release Sky Force has come under scrutiny after trade analyst Komal Nahta accused the filmmakers of artificially inflating the movie's box office numbers.
He claimed that the makers used a practice called "block booking" to inflate the film's numbers.
Now, in response to the allegations, Sky Force's director Sandeep Kewlani has denied any wrongdoing in an interview with News18.
Director's defense
Kewlani defended 'Sky Force' and 'Chhaava' against accusations
Defending both Sky Force and another Maddock Films production, Chhaava, Kewlani said their collections are "genuinely organic" with no block bookings involved.
He stressed the audience's love for the films as the main reason behind their success.
"It has been nearly 20 days since the picture was released, and even today I get messages daily on Instagram and Twitter from viewers who have loved the film," he said.
Collection debate
Kewlani questioned the relevance of box office collections
Further in the interview, Kewlani questioned the importance of box office collections in defining a film's worth.
"Collection is only a 15-day or one-month game and then everyone forgets about it. There shouldn't be a system for collection. Why are we telling people how much a film has earned?"
"If a film earns ₹300 crore and you don't like it, you won't change your opinion just because of how much it earned...The audience knows what they want to watch."
Accusations explained
More about the accusations
Nahta had accused the makers of Sky Force and Chhaava of resorting to block booking. This practice sees a production house or an actor buying multiple tickets for their own film to inflate box office numbers.
Both films are produced by Maddock Films, with Sky Force marking the Bollywood debut of Veer Pahariya and also starring Sara Ali Khan and Nimrat Kaur in key roles.
On the other hand, Chhaava—released on February 14—is headlined by Vicky Kaushal.