Mumbai,
Mar
5
(PTI)
Actor
Rani
Mukerji
on
Tuesday
credited
the
theatrical
success
of
"Pathaan" for
changing
things
for
the
Yash
Raj
Films,
which
was
going
through
a
challenging
phase
after
many
of
their
big
ticket
movies
failed
at
the
box
office.
Some
of
the
big-ticket
releases
of
YRF
that
bombed
at
the
box
office
include
“Prithviraj”
starring
Akshay
Kumar,
Ranbir
Kapoor’s
“Shamshera”,
“Bunty
Aur
Babli
2”,
which
featured
Mukerji
alongside
Saif
Ali
Khan,
and
Vicky
Kaushal-led
“The
Great
Indian
Family”.
The
45-year-old
actor
praised
filmmaker
husband
Aditya
Chopra
for
sticking
to
his
conviction
of
releasing
movies
in
theatres
at
a
time
when
producers
were
opting
for
direct-to-digital
releases
during
the
pandemic.
"He
was
being
offered
a
lot
of
money
to
release
it
on
OTT...
My
husband
took
a
brave
call
and
said,
'I
would
not
release
any
of
these
films
on
OTT
because
I
believe
in
the
power
of
Indian
cinema
of
what
it
does
theatrically'...
All
of
those
films
flopped
because
post
pandemic,
the
way
audiences
were
watching
content
changed
overnight
because
of
OTT.
"It
was
like
complete
depression.
People
in
our
company
were
sad.
The
whole
conviction
of
Adi
that
my
films
will
be
released
theatrically...
We
thought
that
there
would
be
divine
intervention
and
he
would
be
rewarded
for
his
conviction
of
releasing
his
films
theatrically...
'Pathaan’
changed
the
entire
thing
for
Yash
Raj
and
it
became
the
highest
grossing
film,"
the
actor
said.
"Pathaan",
which
released
in
January
2023,
went
on
to
earn
over
Rs
1,000
crore
at
the
box
office.
Mukerji
said
Chopra's
conviction
to
release
films
theatrically
during
challenging
times
was
"commendable".
"Filmmakers
need
to
have
more
faith
in
the
product
that
they
make,
and
they
should
believe
in
what
they
make.
They
should
stand
with
each
other
to
make
that
change.
'Pathaan' stood
the
test
of
time,
and
it
opened
the
floodgates
for
people
going
into
cinemas."
Mukerji
also
praised
the
south
film
industry
for
making
simple
films
that
connect
with
people.
"The
most
fascinating
part
about
the
south
film
industry
is
that
there’s
a
lot
of
unity,
they
stand
together,
and
they
support
each
other.
Also,
actors
stand
for
each
other.
It
happens
in
our
industry
as
well,"
she
said.
"The
beautiful
part
is
they
say,
'they
learnt
(about
storytelling)
from
us,
and
we
say,
we
learnt
it
from
them’.
So,
it’s
a
give
and
take
thing.
Indian
cinema
is
looking
inwards.
It’s
wonderful
that
we
are
taking
feedback
and
are
getting
inspired
by
each
other
to
be
the
best
version
of
ourselves,"
she
added.
Over
the
years,
the
actor
said
her
process
of
choosing
film
scripts
has
changed.
In
her
20s,
she
would
accept
a
role
after
a
one
line
narration
from
the
producer
and
director.
"...There
was
no
story
or
dialogues
that
were
given
to
us
to
prepare
beforehand.
It
was
like,
this
is
the
beginning,
middle
and
end.
There
was
no
conscious
effort
to
even
convince
us.
It
was
like
if
you
don’t
do
it
then
we
have
someone
else...,”
she
said.
Mukerji
also
revealed
that
it
was
her
2002
release,
“Saathiya”
that
made
her
realise
there’s
much
more
to
acting
than
it
being
a
9:00
am
to
9:00pm
job.
“When
I
was
a
teenager
doing
my
job,
I
would
want
my
time
back
home.
I
would
be
the
happiest
person
when
they
would
say,
'pack-up’.
Then
times
changed.
I
wanted
to
be
on
a
film
set
longer
than
the
required
time
because
I
wanted
to
be
part
of
the
filmmaking
process.
I
wanted
to
spend
time
with
my
director,
technicians.”
Mukerji,
who
has
been
in
the
movie
industry
for
close
to
three
decades,
said
the
younger
generation
of
actors
have
to
face
the
pressure
of
being
on
social
media.
“Things
for
them
are
tougher
because
they
want
instant
gratification
through
social
media....Everything
is
scrutinised
much
more,
and
everybody
is
on
tenterhooks
as
to
not
make
mistakes.
Luckily,
because
I’m
not
on
social
media,
I
don’t
know
what’s
going
on.
So,
I
say
what
I
want
to
say,”
she
said.