Farooq: Rs 100 cr scale has lowered focus on film's quality

Mumbai: Ruing that a film's success in Bollywood nowadays is judged by the Rs 100 crore benchmark, veteran actor Farooq Sheikh feels that the contemporary trend has diluted the focus on quality of the movie.

"I think if we begin with the aspiration of making Rs 100 crore, then it is sad. We should rather think that our film should be so good that people will watch it again and again and remember it," Sheikh told PTI.

"This should be given a thought and not that it should be released in some 3,000 odd prints and make Rs 100 crore in two weeks. If we think that way, then our focus on the quality of the film is less as we are thinking of making money," he said.

Citing an example, the actor said 'Mother India' was made in 1956 and even after over 50 years, the film still catches people's attention.

"The content that remains with you is important. Cinema should be fun and stay with you. I am ok with films making Rs 200 or 500 crore but that should not be the be all and end all," he said.

With film promotions today constituting an essential part of movie-making, Sheikh finds some methods of promoting not upto the mark.

"Today promotions are part of talking about the film, making the audience aware about it. For promotions stars go to TV shows, but who and how many people watch it is a question. I don't agree with it," he said.

As cinema is changing with the taste of the audience, Sheikh feels the viewers should be demanding in terms of what they would like to watch.

"I love all kinds of films and want all films to be successful. If I have a complaint then it is with the audience. They are spending time and money, I feel they must insist on quality and not accept everything and anything, saying it is a 'time-pass' film," he said.

"A discerning demanding audience is the root to good cinema which should be a mix of entertainment and meaningfulness. Cinema is entertainment, you should have mainstream films but it should be something good," Farooq added.

The actor is looking forward to his upcoming film 'Club 60' where he is paired opposite noted actress Sarika.

Notably, the movie has senior actors like Satish Shah, Tinu Anand, Raghubir Yadav, Sharat Saxena and others.

"In 'Club 60' Sarika and I play husband and wife. It is about a group of people who are 60 years old or close to that. That is why the title is 'Club 60'. There is a lot of energy in me. And I want to make use of it. It's a great concept and will highlight many aspects of life," Sheikh said.

The film is being made by Sanjay Tripathi, who made popular science series 'Turning Point' on Doordarshan, and is scheduled to release this year.