It is no secret that Bollywood has lost its touch. There is no authenticity and realism in Bollywood anymore. Bollywood can no longer connect with the audience, all they focus on is commercial success rather than storytelling. If it was anything like before, we would’ve had to see such a bad performance at the box office in 2024. Only a few did well at the box office while others sank. Not everyone in Bollywood cares about how the industry is doing. All they give a f about is their paycheck.
No wonder why directors are so keen on making commercial films cause they know not every actor even the bigger ones is ready to go through what it takes to make a regional and realistic movie. At the International Film Festival Of India 2024 in Goa, Anupam Kher made a few bold statements regarding the ongoing situation of Bollywood. The actor pointed out how there has been a cultural shift in the audience making Bollywood lose its touch with rich heritage and values. Kher lamented the destruction of the core narrating essence of Bollywood and relying more on commercialization and Western trends.
The actor expressed that we have stopped telling our story and are more dependent on global validation. Speaking on the current situation of cinema the actor said, “Going to the cinema is an outing that a person does with their family, so you have to improve the quality of cinema because you are competing with streaming platforms and the millions of sources of entertainment in the world. Why don’t we raise our bar?” Further on he added that the biggest challenge for cinema at this point is its storytelling ability.
He said, “India is such a huge country, and we are not telling our stories. Hindi cinema is still struggling to tell stories that are from our lands. Most stories you feel you have seen somewhere, sometimes even the sequences are already seen in other films. The best way to reinvent yourself is to look back and look inside.” We need more actors like Anupam Kher who realizes how sacred the cinema, Bollywood cinema is. The industry should stop making it a business hub and start making it a home for talent, artists and entertainment.
Comment down if you want to see more regional cinema and not larger-than-life movies.
