Film Exhibitor Slams Naseeruddin Shah's 'Darinde' Comment: 'I Object To This Distasteful & Factually Incorrect Statement'

Film exhibitor Akshaye Rathi has strongly objected to veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah's controversial 'darinde' statement and penned a long note on social media. For those unversed, Naseeruddin Shah recently opened up about the "bitter truth" of film industry and stated that distributors and exhibitors "take the major share of the profit" if a film is successful.

Shah also called them 'darinde'. Reacting to his statement, Akshaye called it 'distasteful and factually incorrect'.

Akshaye REACTS to Shah's controversial statement

Akshaye wrote, "As they say, ignorance is dangerous, but half knowledge is even more dangerous. Your statement, unfortunately indicates that despite having years of experience as an artiste, you are unaware about the ground realities of the entertainment sector. I hope you realise that the strike rate/success ratio of the films that your ilk (content creators ranging from actors to film makers) makes is sub 10% & an overwhelming majority of the ones that release in cinemas don’t even draw enough footfalls to help us break even on our weekly operational expenses (real estate, electricity, salaries, maintenance, taxes etc)."

"Profits from the occasional blockbuster make up for losses incurred through weeks of playing flop/underperforming films & at the end of the year, we hope that the larger equation allows us to stay in the green," he added.

Take a look at his full tweet here:

Shah attended an event in Mumbai a few days back and claimed that the film industry often does not recognise and neglect those who work hard behind the scenes. He also said that it is 'disheartening' that people who play a pivotal role in a film's success are not recognised in the film industry for their contribution.

"The bitter truth of the film industry is that those who work hard a lot during the making of the film, like light men and others, their income is not much. This is the nature of the beast."

"If a film is successful, then distributors and exhibitors take the major share of the profit. Those who help achieve this (success), no one cares about them. They are not even awarded," the veteran actor added.

Naseeruddin Shah, who is known for expressing his views on various issues, never minces his words when it comes to speaking his mind.

Meanwhile, on the work front, the actor is currently seen as Mughal emperor Akbar in ZEE5’s Taj: Reign of Revenge and in Saas, Bahu Aur Flamingo with Dimple Kapadia.