Films on social issues evoke good response but do they always spell gold on box office?

Not many people know about Arunachalam Muruganantham, a social entrepreneur from Tamil Nadu and his struggles to invent low cost sanitary pads. But Akshay Kumar’s new release in 2018, Padman, will bring his story to the big screen. A socially relevant film, will Padman strike gold at the box office just like its peers Dangal, Jolly LLB 2 and others?

A look at the revenues of films that picked up social issues can answer this question. Topping the list is Aamir Khan’s Dangal that not only had a phenomenal run in India but broke records even globally. The film went on to earn Rs 495 crore in the domestic market but its revenue skyrocketed internationally minting more than Rs 2,000 crore in collections.

The other films in this category like Jolly LLB 2, Toilet Ek Prem Katha (TEPK), Piku ,3 Idiots, Hindi Medium too took to celluloid to help educate audiences that paid rich dividends to the filmmakers.

Talking to Moneycontrol, Mukta Arts MD, Rahul Puri said, “Films like Toilet, Hindi Medium and Lipstick Under My Burkha have all catered to a slightly different audience but the underlying social relevance of the films has not been missed by movie-goers, critics and indeed the trade. The immediate future also sees films tackle subjects like sanitary napkins in an Indian context.”

TEPK’s total gross came at Rs 132 crore and became the highest grossing film of Akshay Kumar. 3 Idiots that highlighted the problems in the education system was well received earning revenue of Rs 201 crore. Smaller films like Lipstick under My Burkha and Hindi Medium evoked a good response and raked in Rs 16.52 crore and Rs 77 crore, respectively.

“Audiences will always embrace a socially relevant subject. The history of cinema is testament to this fact. Something that has great resonance with the audience is something that can trigger empathy for characters and make their journey’s all the more valuable to see,” said Puri.

Films on social issues isn’t a new trend but thing of the past. Puri says, “Bimal Roy’s films in the 60’s handled them with great sensitivity. In the late 60’s Aradhana handled the subject of widowed women which was a huge success and that issue was tackled again by Raj Kapoor in Prem Rog albeit with child widows. It too, was a superhit film.”

So does a social message in a film spell box office gold?

Puri says the theme is not a magic wand. He added that for every film that is a roaring success on social issues, there are many others which fail. “Audiences still need a filmmaker to engage them.”

Films like Well Done Abba starring Boman Irani, Rani Mukherjee’s Mardaani, television stars Ram Kapoor and Ronit Roy’s Udaan, despite being based on social issues did not find many takers. While Well Done Abba grossed only Rs 4.23 crore at a budget of Rs 6 crore and Udaan, worth Rs 4.50 crore, gathered only Rs 4.21 crore in India, Mardaani recovered its cost and collected Rs 47.32 crore.

Puri says the films can work only when issues are combined with entertainment and emotion. “This establishes resonance and empathy with people who will then be engrossed in the unfolding of the characters and the story. Finding a social issue isn’t a pot of gold. Making a good film will always be that.”