Javed Akhtar says the ongoing boycott trend in Bollywood is just a 'passing phase'

Recently, Aamir Khan's film 'Laal Singh Chaddha', Akshay Kumar's 'Raksha Bandhan' and Vijay Deverakonda’s ‘Liger’ faced the wrath of netizens on social media and performed poorly at box office. Several celebrities have shared their thoughts about this ongoing cancel culture in Bollywood lately. Now, in a new interview, veteran lyricist and writer Javed Akhtar opened up on the effects of the cancel culture in the film industry and called it a ‘passing phase’.

Speaking with ETimes, he said, ‘It is a passing phase. It is very evident that it doesn’t work. If the film is good and is appreciated by the audience, it will work.’ He further added, ‘If it is not good and not appreciated by the audience, it won’t work. I don’t think this kind of announcement of cancel culture and boycott works at all.’

Ranbir Kapoor-Alia Bhatt starrer ‘Brahmastra’, Hrithik Roshan’s ‘Vikram Vedha’ and Shah Rukh Khan’s ‘Pathaan’ are the latest films to face boycott calls.

Earlier, while speaking with Pinkvilla, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap had also shared his views about social media boycott trends. He said, ‘I am used to it. It affects those who's films do over Rs. 100 cr. My films have not even gone beyond Rs. 32 cr. For me, it is nothing new. I have been boycotted since the time Twitter started. Ask me questions that affect me.’