It is heartbreaking when good films don't work at the box office, says actor Bhumi Pednekar, who believes some of the responsibility also lies with the audience as their feedback decides what gets made next.

Citing the example of critically-lauded films such as "Bheed" and "Afwaah", which failed to stay in theatres despite good reviews for tackling issues like pandemic and migrant crisis as well the menace of fake news, Bhumi said right voices are not getting an opportunity to tell their stories. "It really breaks your heart when a film like ‘Bheed’ or ‘Afwaah’ doesn't do well," Bhumi told PTI in an interview.

"‘Bheed’ has a platform (OTT). The onus is also on the audience, it is not just on the filmmaker. If you want good content and a good film to be made, you’ve to watch that film. If you don't watch that film, then those films will not be made. It's like, what came first, the chicken or the egg? I don't really have an answer for it. All I know is if you want good work, you have to go support small films," the actor added.

According to the actor, the conversation around films is now just limited to their Friday numbers (box office performance on the opening day).

"...The word-of-mouth films that used to be there, where are they now? Now, a Friday number decides everything. Every film does not have the capability of doing Rs 8, 12 or 20 crore but does that mean it's a bad film? No.

"Word-of-mouth was an entire bracket within our films, which has just completely been taken away. That's why I feel such good films and newer voices don't get an opportunity. I feel the only film that happened with was ‘12th Fail’ because the makers were so bullish about it that they were like, ‘We'll keep it in the theatre and then see what happens," she said.

Bhumi said even a film like "Laapataa Ladies", directed by Kiran Rao, gained prominence only after its OTT release.

"When it was released, there were newcomers in it... it’s such a beautiful film. But people labelled it (failure) because it didn't have a good opening," she added.

On a question about only tentpole films like "Dhurandhar" doing well theatrically, Bhumi said she loved the Aditya Dhar movie, which has earned over Rs 1,300 crore globally.

"'Dhurandhar' is a great film. It's just not a tentpole film. It's a phenomenal film. I loved the film. There is a director's voice in the film, it has fantastic performances. The beauty of cinema or any art form, everybody has their point of view," she said.

The actor said she has always strived to do all kinds of movies, whether it is a niche title like "Sonchiriya" or a commercial project like "Pati Patni Aur Woh".

"I am an actor, so if I’m doing ‘The Royals’ and then I’m doing ‘Daldal’ as well. My job is to be in a different kind of role, and push myself as well. I’m very optimistic that we are the cusp of change," she said.

"My new goals are just doing work that helps me grow as a human being and as an actor, and only work with filmmakers that love me for what I have to offer, just do work that breaks this mediocrity that the industry is going through right now." The actor also spoke about the failure of "The Lady Killer", co-starring Arjun Kapoor. The movie, Bhumi said, was incomplete when it made its debut in cinema halls. Directed by Ajay Bahl of “BA Pass” and "Section 375" fame, the film reportedly underwent multiple re-shoots and exceeded its budget. It received a limited theatrical release before being made available for free on the T-Series YouTube channel.

"What happened with 'The Lady Killer', honestly, even we don't know. It was an incomplete film that went out. I don't think anything was spoken about it then, I did not want to, and I'll just stick to that as well. But as actors, it's not really in your control.

"It was an incomplete film that was released in four screens, like not even theatres," she said, adding that she hoped that people involved will speak up "but nobody did".

Bhumi's debut streaming show "The Royals" on Netflix didn't get the best of reviews but the actor said it is her "one of the most viewed pieces of work". "If I go to LA, or any part of the world, some non-Indian person will recognise me and be like, ‘Were you in ‘The Royals?’ I always knew that show was going to travel," she said.

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