Imagine an album featuring five of India’s top singers, filled with songs of love, heartbreak, pain, separation, youthful exuberance and celebration. Now imagine a film about college life and the years that follow: nostalgic, relatable and rooted in friendship and the search for love. It sounds like the kind of story that should find an audience at the box office. Yet, unfortunately, that was not the case with Prem Keetanu.
Released on October 2, the film received a muted box-office response. It was not given the opportunity it deserved. Love stories have long defined generations of superstars, yet this one struggled to attract enough viewers to sustain its theatrical run.
Romance has traditionally been one of Hindi cinema’s safest genres. So why is it struggling at the box office? Have audiences become so accustomed to franchises, sequels, familiar stories and familiar characters that they are less willing to give new narratives a chance?
There was a time when films such as Pyaar Ka Punchnama, F.A.L.T.U. and Ishaqzaade could draw audiences to cinemas. Lately, however, that has become less common. Films that might once have defined young adulthood seem to be losing their box-office appeal. Is this a problem specific to Prem Keetanu, or does it reflect a broader challenge for a genre that has traditionally appealed to young audiences?
There may be several reasons. Perhaps the cast did not feel compelling enough to audiences. The clash with Drishyam may also have worked against it. Despite largely positive reviews describing the film as entertaining, relatable and nostalgic—and praising its music—it failed to generate the expected response. What explains that disconnect?
Could the expansion of streaming be part of the answer? Has this genre moved primarily to streaming, even though romantic dramas have not been among the platform’s most prominent favourites, where thrillers have often made a stronger mark? Or are young viewers, exposed to more international content, less inclined to give local stories a chance? Have their tastes and viewing habits changed?
Ticket affordability may also be a factor. Rising prices appear to be influencing what people choose to watch. Are audiences now saving cinema visits for event films? With a few exceptions, such as Hanuman Ansh, theatrical viewing seems increasingly concentrated around major stars and tentpole releases.
The reasons may be many, but Prem Keetanu deserved a chance. At its heart is a familiar, everyday story: a young man facing joblessness, falling in love and choosing between his career and the woman he loves—or trying to pursue both. The film explores insecurity, the complexities of growing up in a middle-class household and the challenges of finding one’s way, while still offering an entertaining package. It deserved to be tested in cinemas.
The irony is that the very audience that might enjoy these qualities belongs to a generation accustomed to watching such films at home.
A sizeable theatrical Hindi audience still exists. Ormax estimates that urban India has 28.5 million regular Hindi cinema-goers. Viewers under 30 account for 57 per cent of Hindi box-office revenue and as much as 70 per cent of first-day box office. Young audiences are precisely the viewers films like Prem Keetanu need to bring back, especially for genres that do not automatically come with the draw of spectacle or a major franchise.
The question, then, is not whether people have stopped enjoying sweet, sincere films. It is whether those films can still persuade audiences that they are worth paying to see in a theatre.
Prem Keetanu puts that question on the table: can a simple story about college, friendship and love still compete for audiences’ money when an entire library of entertainment is waiting at home?
For Hindi romantic comedies, that may be the real battle now. They are competing with an increasingly attractive alternative: staying home and waiting for the film to arrive there.
