He is India’s most travelled globe-trotting film critic. Rajeev Masand is the entertainment editor with CNN News 18, has a scandalously gossipy column with Open magazine, and flies around the world to interview mega Hollywood stars like Daniel Craig and Tom Cruise for his television show. Having covered international award shows like the Oscars and Golden Globes, he tells Hi! Blitz why our Bollywood award shows have zero credibility, and recounts the one time he was threatened after a bad review.
Have you ever received a death threat for a bad review?
Yes, once really long back a filmmaker threatened that he’d kill me and I think it was an overreaction on his part. And I won’t take his name because he’s not alive anymore. I don’t think he genuinely meant it; it was just an on the spur moment and he was so mad that someone could be so obnoxious about his movie.
However, I think what’s more disappointing though is when intelligent actors or filmmakers take it very personally and get angry with you, and will either attack you or stop communication with you. And that happens a lot. Like there’s this superstar who just doesn’t talk to me anymore—and I always enjoyed interviewing this actor because he’s a really intelligent actor and one of those guys you like having conversations with. But he just stopped talking to me for 3-4 years now because I reviewed his last couple of films unfavorably. If you are not able to separate my job with what I think about you personally, then that’s disappointing.
Have you ever faced a PR backlash, especially with the scandalous contents that make it to your Open column?
I’ve faced it more for my reviews, not so much for the column. I genuinely don’t think actors care what you write about them personally. And the great irony of Bollywood is that they all say you can write what you like about our work but don’t get personal. The truth is they don’t care what you write about them personally, but they can’t take any professional criticism.
Have you ever held back in a review because you didn’t want to hurt an actor or filmmaker’s feelings?
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