Ranveer Singh speechless, crowd erupts in cheers as Rohit Shetty makes impassioned defence of Bollywood. Watch

He said in Hindi, “For the last two years, we’ve been fighting a pandemic. Many of our big films couldn’t get on the floors, or weren’t made at all. The big films that did come out had already been completed. Sooryavanshi was released, and at the beginning of this year, films like The Kashmir Files and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 worked well. Drishyam 2 has done well recently. It’s not like our films aren’t working. Gangubai Kathiawadi did really well.”

Addressing the interviewer directly, and the audience firmly on his side, he continued, “You will name six films from the south that have worked, and I have named six Bollywood films that have worked. The grass is always greener on the other side… Pathaan is coming, Tiger is coming, Rajkumar Hirani’s film is coming, Singham is coming, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s new film with Ranveer Singh is coming. We’ve entertained you for so many years, one bad year and you turn your back on us?”

As the crowd began chanting his name and hanging on to his every word, the director went on, “You’ve been watching the films of Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn. You must have seen Amar Akbar Anthony, Don, Sholay, Khiladi. You must have seen Hum Aapke Hain Koun, Maine Pyaar Kiya, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. You also must have seen Singham and Sooryavanshi, Golmaal and Munna Bhai, Hera Pheri and Mother India, Mughal-e-Azam… One bad year and you’re turning your back? We made these films. Don’t take offence, but jahaaz mein jab chhed hota hai, choohe sabse pehle bhagte hain (rats run first when there’s a hole in the ship). We won’t let this ship sink, we’ll make it soar.”

The whole time, Ranveer was left speechless. At one point, he stood up and mimicked a mic-drop, and later, reacting to one of Shetty’s many zingers, he mimed hitting a six. “Do you even know what he has up his sleeve next?” the actor teased. Reacting to the video on Reddit, one person wrote, “Loved this!!! Now y’all start getting back to making movies at the caliber and we’re good to go!” Another person commented, “Casually plugging in Sooryanvanshi with all these other classics like we won’t notice. Other than that, he’s right.” A third person wrote, “Bollywood started in the 1930s and has been running successfully for years. It’s an emotion connected to our childhood memories and I hope it picks up again.”

Cirkus, also featuring Pooja Hegde, Varun Sharma, Sanjay Mishra and others, is slated for release on Friday. It’s the director’s first comedy since 2017’s Golmaal Again. This year, several big-ticket Hindi movies have failed at the box office. Akshay Kumar, in particular, has starred in four theatrical flops. Big stars such as Aamir Khan, Ajay Devgn, Ranbir Kapoor and Ranveer himself have also braved box office failure.

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