Chennai, Feb 9 (NationPress) Renowned Indian filmmaker Shekhar Kapoor recently shared a humorous anecdote involving a black market ticket seller who advised him against creating 'article films' if he aspired to succeed as a director.

In a detailed post on his X account, Kapoor reminisced about the release of his debut film, 'Masoom', which eventually became a blockbuster and a cult classic. He wrote, "Looking back at my first film, Masoom. On its opening day, I entered the main theater, and there were just two people in the entire hall, one of whom was me!"

The esteemed director elaborated, "During that time, the black market for film tickets was rampant. Young men or even gangs would buy tickets in bulk and resell them at inflated prices on the day of the show, provided the hall was full."

"Except for the very first show of 'Masoom', the theater was completely vacant!" Kapoor reflected, recalling how he was confronted by a group of disgruntled young men who had lost their money. One of them took pity on him and cautioned, ‘Sir, the issue is you’ve made an ‘article’ film; if you want a career, avoid that,’” he remembered.

“Article film? I pondered... article film... I realized he was referring to an ‘artistic film’. This young black marketeer was warning me not to venture into making artistic films. The Friday of the release was followed by empty cinema halls on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday,” he stated.

“The distributors ultimately gave up on supporting the film. It was too costly to keep it screening in empty theaters,” the director continued, adding, “I vividly recall the moment they decided to cease trying to keep the theaters open. I wandered the streets of Mumbai, contemplating my next steps, as filmmaking seemed no longer viable.”

However, an unexpected twist occurred on Thursday, he revealed, as a friend called asking for tickets to Masoom.

“I thought he was joking, but then on Thursday, one cinema filled up. By Friday, there were queues of people eager to purchase tickets. Over the weekend, distributors frantically sought to reclaim the theaters they had abandoned, and my ‘article’ film was declared a hit,” he shared.

“What transpired that weekend? In hindsight, people attribute it to ‘word of mouth,’ but how could it be when hardly anyone saw the film? What happened that Thursday? I still ponder as I prepare to create ‘Masoom, the next generation’ all these years after the original became a cult sensation. Is ‘Masoom, the next generation’ yet another ‘article film’?” he mused.