with welcome to the jungle Given the strong word of mouth after a slow start at the box office, director Ahmed Khan believes that today’s audiences are often quick to label a film as a hit or miss. Speaking to India Today, he said that immediate social media reactions can affect the fate of the film even before the audience watches it in its entirety.

Talking about the pressure filmmakers face in the age of instant reactions, Khan said that many viewers rush to evaluate the film within the first half hour. “A lot of times people don’t even wait for a two-and-a-half-hour movie to end. Within 30 or 45 minutes they’ll be like, ‘This movie is terrible.’ Then, after they finish the movie, they realize, ‘No, it’s actually fantastic.’ But by then you will have sent that message to 50 people. Later, you can tell two people that you were wrong, but what about the other 48? So I think it’s like a cricket match – you can’t declare the result in the first few overs. You have to wait till the end. Anything can happen.”

The director admitted that although social media can sometimes harm a film, it can also work in its favour. Ultimately, he believes that audience recommendations are the biggest driving force behind a film’s success. “It’s worked for us, and sometimes it’s worked against us. Sometimes, people watch the movie and say, ‘Oh man, this is fun. We’re liking it.’ Sometimes it spreads the wrong message and sometimes it helps the film. But word of mouth really works. It happens all the time.”

Drawing parallels with everyday life, Khan explained why he considers word of mouth to be the most powerful form of promotion.

“Even today, if you’re planning a holiday and I tell you I’ve been to Dubai, Vietnam or Bangkok, you’ll ask me where you should go. If I tell you Dubai is fantastic, but it’s hot and expensive, or I recommend Vietnam, it’s word of mouth. The same thing happens when you’re looking for a doctor – you ask people for recommendations. Word of mouth is the most important thing, and it’s really helping this film a lot. The figures are proof.”

talking about welcome to the jungleKhan said that the first thing he looks at after a film’s release is the advance bookings and box-office numbers, but the real confidence comes from seeing the audience reaction inside the theatres.

“The first thing you look at is the box-office numbers and advance bookings. We started slow, but then it suddenly took off. Then you realized that people are interested in seeing the film. When I went and saw a show and saw the audience reaction, I was convinced that this film couldn’t go wrong. People loved it, they owned it, and they understood what the producers wanted to show them. That’s when I said, ‘Don’t look back.'”

Khan said the overwhelming response over the past few days has been reassuring, with appreciation coming not only from the audience but also from some of the biggest names in the film industry. “Right now, it took me three days to digest everything. The numbers are constantly increasing, and I’m constantly getting calls from actors and filmmakers saying, ‘What a film you guys have made.’

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He revealed that the praise from experienced filmmakers has been particularly meaningful. “What really touches me is when senior people like Subhash Ghai and Rakesh Roshan call up and say, ‘You have made this so effortlessly, Ahmed. Great job. Congratulations.'” Rajkumar Santoshi, Anil Sharma… when such great filmmakers call, you realize, ‘Yeah, man, you have done a good job.’ Of course, actors have made calls too – everyone has.”

The director said that many actors saw the film in theaters and approached him soon after. “I know many of them have seen the film in theatres. Some called me straight from the theater and said, ‘Sir, what have you made? We are tired of laughing.’

However, the biggest praise for Khan has come from families who were discussing the film long after leaving the cinema. “The best thing is that everyone keeps telling me, ‘My mom couldn’t stop laughing. My dad couldn’t stop laughing. My sister was going crazy.’ This makes me very happy because when people go home all they talk about is the film. That’s what really makes me happy.”

welcome to the jungleThe film, which released on June 26, stars Akshay Kumar in the lead and stars Sunil Shetty, Jackie Shroff, Arshad Warsi, Tusshar Kapoor, Shreyas Talpade, Paresh Rawal and many more.