Rohit Shetty on Hindi films: We’re not able to reach 10 crore people among 150 crore.

In an interview on the YouTube channel Beer Biceps, Rohit Shetty spoke about the insecurity that actors have working in a multi-heroes film. The director also talked about how he keeps away the ‘yes’ men in the industry and close who genuinely praise his films.

“There used to be so many films with two and three heroes. Even the managers don’t understand this now and keep these actors insecure. If you see seniors—whether it is Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Ajay Devgn, and the biggest example is Drishyam, and you will never see Ajay Devgn saying this or that or etc,” Shetty said.

He further added, “We are a strong clan, but we don’t understand our power. We can do a lot, but we never unite. People love us and we can bring change in so many things. If we worked like a syndicate, we can do a lot. We aren’t thinking of how to expand theatre business and working with the government, and where to go— we’re not able to reach 10 crore people in 150 crore people?”

Talking about the ‘yes’ men in the industry, he added, “When people say you’ve done brilliantly, I keep them away. When someone praises the film, I keep them close.”

Shetty further said, “When someone says bad things about you, don’t take them seriously. When someone gives valid criticism, I will listen. A filmmaker won’t be able to give me advice because they will have their own cultural views and mindset, but with audience, they’re honest. They’ll like a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film, Rohit Shetty film and an Anurag Kashyap film.”

Shetty’s directorial film Cirkus released in theatres on December 23. The film stars Ranveer Singh, Jacqueline Fernandez, Pooja Hegde, Varun Sharma and an ensemble of cast members like Johnny Lever, Sanjay Mishra, Tiku Talsania Ashwini Kalsekar among others.