Filmmaker Dibakar Banerjee didn’t hold back when discussing the state of the Hindi film industry. He believes it’s falling behind its South Indian counterparts. According to him, Bollywood is losing touch with its roots and relies on remaking low-budget Marathi films just to make money.
During an interview on the Honestly Saying Podcast, Dibakar, known for movies like Khosla Ka Ghosla, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, and Shanghai, was asked if the South Indian film industry has influenced Bollywood’s filmmaking in recent years.
The director said, “Yes. It is not a four-year issue, it has been 10-15 years, we have just been slow to read the signs. Over the last decade, decade and a half, they have come up with new interpretation of old superstars, they have invested in stories, invested in subversion in the superstar genre… In addition to that, the independent film industry, let’s say, the Kerala film industry, has kept the vibe because they have kept theatrical alive. They have not let their budgets get bogged down by astronomical star fees. They have also been intelligent about trying to increase the number of theatres.”
The director mentioned that the South Indian film industry also focuses on “local stories” and pointed out how disconnected Hindi filmmakers are from their surroundings. He explained that influential people in Bollywood tend to read English novels and bestselling books, overlooking Hindi, Bengali, or Gujarati literature and stories from their own culture. “Powerful people in Bollywood like us read English novels, Crossword bestsellers, we don’t know how to read Hindi, Bengali, are unaware of Gujarati stories and stories of our roots. A Marathi filmmaker mounts a film on a low budget, and then we remake that and make money. Our ability to jump into our own stories is reducing, so South is definitely ahead of us,” he said.
Dibakar Banerjee is currently awaiting the release of his film, Love Sex Aur Dhoka 2.
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