Director Alankrita Shrivastava Reveals Insights on Why 'Barbie' Movie Failed in Indian Market
Alankrita Shrivastava Reveals The lack of success for Barbie in India doesn't come as a surprise to me." She underscored the pervasive male-centric nature of our music shows, parades, sports tournaments, TV shows, and essentially all facets of popular culture, designed primarily to cater to the male audience. The film "Barbie," however, signifies a remarkable departure in the landscape of popular culture, deserving recognition.
The eagerly anticipated second season of the web series "Made in Heaven" has finally premiered. This captivating series, featuring Sobhita Dhulipala and Arjun Mathur in lead roles, is now available on the popular OTT platform Prime Video. The talented writer-director Alankrita Shrivastava has played a significant role in promoting the series. In a recent interview with a prominent media outlet, she engaged in a candid conversation about movies and web series that place a strong emphasis on female-centric themes. Furthermore, she expressed her perspective on the notable disparity in the Barbie franchise's audience size between India and the rest of the world.
#Announcement #AlankritaShrivastava to direct a film about South-Asian social media star #QandeelBaloch. Alankrita Shrivastava, Vikas Sharma and Sunny Khanna have acquired the rights to Sanam Maher's ‘The Sensational Life and Death of Qandeel Baloch' and will produce the film. pic.twitter.com/AtnmHKnUKq
— Atul Mohan (@atulmohanhere) May 17, 2022The anticipation to elevate the second season was substantial, as Alankrita highlighted. The initial season of "Made in Heaven" had garnered significant audience affection, thereby intensifying the pressure to surpass that success in the sequel. When queried about her readiness to comprehend cinema created by women, for women, and from a women's perspective (the female gaze), she illustrated her point using Barbie as an analogy.
"The evolution of embracing female-centric cinema will require time," emphasized Alankrita. She conveyed that we've made notable strides in our readiness to appreciate and comprehend female-centric cinema, especially when contrasted with the past. However, these advancements, while crucial, fall short of sufficiency, signifying that a lengthy transformative journey still awaits. It's imperative to recognize that popular culture has predominantly been shaped from a male-centric standpoint over several decades.
barbie is officially a billion dollar movie omg pic.twitter.com/MUy8iVWeTL
— izzy (@dayabarbies) August 6, 2023Furthermore, she remarked, "The lack of success for Barbie in India doesn't come as a surprise to me." She underscored the pervasive male-centric nature of our music shows, parades, sports tournaments, TV shows, and essentially all facets of popular culture, designed primarily to cater to the male audience. The film "Barbie," however, signifies a remarkable departure in the landscape of popular culture, deserving recognition. It's a film crafted with girls in mind, akin to a fundamental introduction to feminism. I'm genuinely intrigued by this concept, and the fact that the film struggled in India doesn't astonish me.
In terms of earnings, "Barbie" achieved considerable global revenue, reaching approximately 851.3 crores (over 1 billion), whereas in India, its earnings were notably lower, at just 42.97 crores. Regrettably, the film faced challenges in gaining traction within the Indian market. In contrast, "Openheimer" managed to secure earnings of approximately 116 crores in India.