This might make sense to some and seem like the raving and ranting of a harried film person but to my mind this is an important piece, very important. It is about the timing of the various reviews that hit the internet web sites, the television channels and the newspapers.

Firstly, let’s understand that this is not about the reviews or about the critics and certainly not about stifling the press. This is a matter of business and a matter that is hurting the industry.
There was a time when the reviews would hit the people on a Sunday morning. They were critical assessments of the films released that week and more like art criticism. These days the films have to deal with reviews that come out even before the film is released. Thursday evening and Friday morning reviews are previews and not reviews. Yet there they are telling the people whether they should spend money on the film or not!
Allow me to explain my point of view with the help of three major perspectives.
Firstly, let me train the spotlight on the age-old discussion that reviews don’t really make a difference to movies and their box office runs. I think this is right. I have had more successes than good reviews. None of my films, including Ghulam, Raaz or the recent Haunted, received good reviews and yet the films went on to make a sizeable box office impact. Let us then say that there are really two voices — the voice of the people and the voice of the critics. So my point here is, is it not important for both the voices to be heard at the same time? Is it fair on a film that the critic’s voice is heard first and the voice of the people takes till Sunday? It’s like a court case where only one side is allowed to argue and the other side is held back. It is unfair. Both the voices, people and the critics, should be heard at the same time. One should not have the edge over the other. It is unfair on the film that has so much riding on it.
Taking a cue from the first point here, let me make the second point. It is no secret that there is a lot of bias within the media. There are reviews that have pushed people into seeing bad films and there are reviews that have tried to keep people away from the good ones. The critics have through time had their favourites. The favourite flogging horse and the favourite derby winner and so some stars and directors can never be wrong and some can never be right. In the weather of such biases, is it not even more important that a film has the advantage of both voices being heard? The voice of the critic and the voice of the people? The multitude at large wants entertainment and they are without bias, so then all the more reason that a film deserves both these points of view.
Lastly, let’s understand that these days a film is a multicrore venture and a big business enterprise. It is more like a product that is launched in the market, then why is it singled out for criticism and reviews and the other products are exempt? I have never seen television serials or the launch of a car or the opening of a new restaurant being attacked by critics. If people need to know whether to spend money on a movie or not, do they not deserve to know whether they should go to a restaurant or spend on a car?
There are two sides to every story. Justice is when both sides are heard. In this case the people versus the critics!