Ranbir Kapoor says boycott calls had no impact on Shamshera: 'If a film doesn't work, it is because content is not good'

In a recent media interaction, Ranbir Kapoor opened up about why his last release Shamshera failed at the box office.

Ranbir Kapoor had his most packed year at the cinemas in a long time. After four years of no releases, he first saw the release of his period action drama Shamshera in July, and now his epic fantasy film Brahmastra is ready for release. However, Shamshera did not work at the box office. Many felt the film was affected by the calls for boycott and a general air of negativity about Bollywood. In a recent media interaction, Ranbir opened up about the film's failure for the first time.

Ranbir Kapoor in a still from Shamshera.

Ranbir was in Delhi on Wednesday along with Alia Bhatt and Ayan Mukerji to promote Brahmastra on Wednesday. The three held a press conference where Ranbir was asked about the general air of negativity about the Hindi film industry and if he felt Bollywood films were being targetted unfairly. The actor responded, "I'll give my own example. I don't want to speak about other films. I had a film release a month-and-a-half ago, Shamshera. I didn't feel any negativity about it"

The actor dismissed notions that calls of boycott had hurt the film's box office prospects and said that in the end, it all boiled down to content. "If the film didn't run at the box office, it's only because the audience didn't like the film. Eventually, it's about the content. If you make a good film, enertain people, of course they will go to the cinema and watch your films. They want to feel that different emotion, connect with characters and get entertained. So, if a film doesn't work, it is not for any other reason but because the content is not good. That's what I feel is the true answer," Ranbir said.

Shamshera, directed by Karan Malhotra, was mounted on a lavish budget of ₹150 crore but could only muster around ₹64 crore at the box office, becoming one of Ranbir’s career’s biggest failures. The film also starred Sanjay Dutt and Vani Kapoor. The actor will now see the release of Brahmastra on Friday, September 9. The Ayan Mukerji film is one of the biggest Indian films ever made, with a budget of over ₹400 crore.