Director Sanjay Gupta Calls Out Bollywood’s Box Office ‘Hits’, Netizens Ask, ‘Sitaare Zameen Par?’

June 23, 2025: Filmmaker Sanjay Gupta has stirred the pot in Bollywood with a cryptic post on X (formerly Twitter), suggesting that the film industry might be faking its box office figures. Without naming anyone directly, Gupta sarcastically praised the industry’s so-called winning streak:

“We are living in such wonderful times… No film bombs at the box office. They all open to wonderful numbers. Sab changa hai 🙃🙃🙃.”

The timing of his post has raised eyebrows, especially on platforms like Reddit, where users speculated that the dig was aimed at Aamir Khan’s recently released film Sitaare Zameen Par. One user commented, “I think it was for Sitaare Zameen Par,” while another said, “Sitaare Zameen Par box office numbers giving sleepless nights to keyboard warriors.”

Despite the subtle shade, Sitaare Zameen Par is enjoying a strong start at the box office. In just three days, the emotional sports dramedy has collected an impressive ₹57 crore (net) in India, according to industry tracker Sacnilk. Directed by RS Prasanna and starring Aamir Khan alongside Genelia Deshmukh, the film has received largely positive reviews for its heartfelt storytelling and socially relevant themes.

The film is on track to surpass the lifetime collection of Aamir’s previous release Laal Singh Chaddha (₹61.36 crore). It has already outperformed films like Kesari Chapter 2 (₹29.5 crore) and Jaat (₹26.25 crore) in its opening weekend. However, it still trails behind bigger openers like Salman Khan’s Sikandar (₹74.5 crore) and Akshay Kumar’s Sky Force (₹62.25 crore).

In a follow-up post, Sanjay Gupta continued the conversation with another cryptic reference to film sequels:

“For me, a sequel right up there with GODFATHER 2 was TERMINATOR 2… I’m just so glad I didn’t watch a single one after T2. They were all so terrible.”

The comment may have nothing to do with Sitaare Zameen Par, but fans online are connecting dots — especially given the emotional and thematic echoes between Sitaare and Aamir’s 2007 classic Taare Zameen Par

As the box office battle and online chatter continue, one thing is clear — Sitaare Zameen Par has people talking, whether for its numbers, content, or controversy.