Ramesh Taurani: 4 films a year beats flop fear

Veteran producer Ramesh Taurani has a direct message for Bollywood’s biggest stars: the fear of one flop is doing more damage than the flop itself. In a conversation with Komal Nahta, Ramesh and Kumar Taurani made the case for stars to sign more films, not fewer, even when some projects miss.

Where the flop fear comes from

Ramesh Taurani compared the current star mindset to a legal safety valve. Just as courts prefer to let the guilty walk free than convict an innocent, he said actors now think “10 hit chhoot jaaye, koi parwah nahin. Lekin 1 flop nahin chahiye.” The worry, he explained, is that one failure will dent their brand value.

Kumar Taurani added that actors have become “very panicky” about a film failing. His counter: keep working, even through a couple of flops, and aim for at least two to three releases a year.

Volume as career insurance

The producers pointed to Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn, who remain busy with around four films a year. That pace means one underperformer is quickly followed by another release, so no single outcome defines the star. Taurani also noted that Salman Khan has three films in two years for sure, and said he keeps telling Aamir Khan to do more movies.

He contrasted that with Shah Rukh Khan’s King, which will arrive three years after his last release. Long gaps, he suggested, only raise the pressure on one film. That portfolio logic is familiar to fans: a regular release calendar keeps a star in conversation, while a long absence turns every trailer into an event loaded with expectation.

The old model, the new money

In the 90s and 2000s, Ramesh Taurani recalled, a one-line idea could seal a project over a phone call because trust carried the business. There were fewer revenue streams, but actors still committed. Today, stars earn from stage shows, ads and endorsements, so finances are not the real constraint; brand anxiety is.

Kumar Taurani offered one practical lever: on Dhurandhar, the actors and director opted for profit-sharing instead of large upfront fees. That arrangement keeps budgets lower and gives talent a share in the outcome. For producers, that can be the difference between greenlighting a film and waiting out a negotiation.

• Sign at least two to three films a year
• Use profit-sharing to keep budgets manageable
• Treat a flop as part of a long cycle, not a career verdict

Why it matters

If more stars adopt this rhythm, fans could get shorter gaps between releases, fuller theatrical calendars and fewer high-stakes comeback narratives. The Taurani argument is simple: a busy actor survives a flop; an absent star can be defined by one.

Source: bollywoodHungama.com