The Budget Obsession Taking Over Bollywood
Manoj Bajpayee has had enough of people obsessing over movie budgets. In a recent chat, the actor called out the growing trend of filmmakers using massive production budgets as a promotional tool. The conversation comes at a time when big-ticket projects like Nitesh Tiwari’s Ramayana and SS Rajamouli’s Varanasi are making headlines for their reported costs – with Ramayana said to be in the range of Rs 1,600 to Rs 4,000 crores, and Varanasi pegged above Rs 1,300 crores. Bajpayee says this fixation on numbers has become infectious even among the audience.
Manoj’s No-Nonsense Take on PR Tactics
According to the actor, these budget revelations are nothing but a PR tactic. During a conversation with Kadak, he said, ‘Woh ek PR ka zariya hota hai’ – referring to how budget talk has been happening for the last 15 years. He even shared an anecdote about scolding fans who discuss box office numbers at the airport. ‘This money is not going into your own bank account. If this is going in your bank account, then you talk about the box office numbers of a film. You should talk about whether you like the film or not,’ he said. Bajpayee urged viewers to stop caring about figures and instead focus on the quality of the film. ‘These Rs 500-600 crores that they are talking about, not even one rupee is being given to you. A film’s business is only a producer’s prerogative,’ he explained.
Up Next: Governor
While Bajpayee is making strong statements about industry trends, he’s also busy promoting his next film, Governor. Inspired by true events, the movie is set during India’s economic crisis of the 1990s and explores political and institutional conflicts. Directed by Chinmay Mandlekar and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, the film features music by Amit Trivedi and lyrics by Javed Akhtar. Governor is scheduled to hit cinemas on June 12, 2026. Going by Bajpayee’s advice, maybe we should just judge it on its merit, not its budget.