Bollywood has a specific formula for movies. The movies have theatrics, action, and vibrancy. But most importantly, songs. Songs at times take up a certain percentage of the runtime of a movie. Many times these appear randomly. But more importantly, they are intricate for the story to unfold. By that logic, Joker: Folie Á Deux should have been at the top of the charts in the Indian market. But that’s not the case.
The problem lies in the execution. To say the least, the songs in Joker 2 are covers of original songs. Many of them are from the 80s. The Indian audience has no clue about these songs. The impact diminishes right there. The music is just alien to the Indian audience. The problem becomes bigger as any Hindi dub would have no way to catch these songs.
Furthermore, we don’t expect these movies to be musicals. Sure, there was Lala Land. But it was not a sequel to one of the most beloved comic book movies. The problem lies in the curse of the standard. Indians know Joker as a Batman villain. Not some messianic figure; the movie strays so far from the source that it gets tough for the audience to follow.
Amidst all these problems, Todd Philips’ Joker: Folie Á Deux fails to capture the one market that could have been its greatest stronghold. The creative choices made in the movie were daring but perhaps a bit too “ahead of the curve.” No wonder the ratings have plummeted. The movie has a rating of 5 out of 10 on BookMyShow out of 4000 views. To say the least, Joker: Folie A Deux proves that the Indian market, even though it is the biggest producer of “by definition” musicals, is not the same in terms of reception.