Big box office collection may not mean the economy is doing good because a lot of people still go to watch movies to enjoy a few stress-free hours during a slowdown.
Recently film trade analyst Komal Nahta pointed out that on October 2 (Gandhi Jayanti), a national holiday, three films – War, Joker and Sye Raa – earned Rs 120 crore in one day.
Well, definitely a thing to boast for the film industry.
However, when Indian Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad used that bit of news to suggest that the Indian economy must be sound, it did not go down well with many; the social media space exploded with comments and suggestions indicating that the minister had no clue as to why the Indian economy was under performing.“Old super hit films like Sholay, Lagaan, Gadar should be re-released to reach USD 5 trillion economy. “All these films will earn so much money, our economy will recover in no time,” one of the jokes that were floating around after the statement.
People going to the theatres to watch movies is good for the movie business, but it is not going to help the economy grow, or create more jobs.
And we have seen in the past that the film industry is immune to economic slowdowns. In 2008, the year of recession, the film industry still managed to grow at a healthy 7.7 percent.
Its because people want to escape the negativity which is prevalent when the economy is not doing good.
So high box office collections may not mean that the economy is doing well.
I am sure the minister learnt a thing or two about the movie business. And in case you are worried about your job, why not watch a movie at your nearest theatre?
