Reading Time: 4 minutes
The other day I came across an article that caught my eye. It spoke about the then-impending release of the latest Rajinikanth-starrer ‘Jailer’. More specifically, it talked about how companies were giving employees time off from work so they could go to watch it. Cinema, regardless of language, has long captured the imagination of Indians across the country. It is intrinsically woven within the fabric of our culture. Generations of Indians have lived out their fantasies vicariously through the on-screen exploits of their celluloid idols. Rajinikanth is a towering, god-like figure of South Indian cinema and it is not out of place for his films to be greeted with jubilation and reverence in equal measure. But reading that article got me thinking – what has happened to Bollywood? Why has its lustre faded?
Once the global flagbearer for the Indian film industry, it has been overtaken by its South Indian cousin. Even as Tollywood, Kollywood and Mollywood have been releasing hit after hit, the punches Bollywood has landed post-pandemic have been few and far between. To put it simply, the industry seems to be on the ropes. The once-talismanic pulling power of its biggest stars, that drew crowds to cinema halls across India, appears to have lost its charm, with Shah Rukh Khan probably being the only exception. Why is the fabled Hindi film industry, which long stood as a cultural touchstone for all things Indian, now on the decline?
I cannot claim to be an industry expert, but, on reflection, I think there are several factors behind it. For starters, Bollywood appears mired in a formulaic groove. The stars, the themes, the music, the storytelling all increasingly feel tired and clichéd. Nothing really stands out anymore. Films come and films go in a seemingly endless loop of below average substance.
South Indian cinema, on the other hand, is not afraid to push the boundaries of creativity and has been serving up stories that are varied, eclectic, daring, and innovative. Pushpa, Bahubali, RRR or Kantara… all have been loved by audiences pan-India. Every film stands out with its own identity. Comparatively, the acting also seems unforced and realistic, with the music scores definitely more original and soul stirring. While Bollywood caters only to a Hindi speaking audience, Southern films have a greater cultural diversity focusing on regional audiences like Drishyam (Malyalam), KGF (Kannada) and RRR (Telegu). The locales they are filmed in are also more regional bringing in wider audience identification compared to Bollywood that finds locations in far-flung places, oftentimes totally irrelevant to the storyline. Southern films also address important social issues like caste and women. Their films have also been better in terms of technology and visual effects. Experimenting with new ideas, innovations, different locales and different styles of narratives, they have a great novelty value, unlike the same old concepts being thrashed out in the North.
Why has Bollywood missed the bus? There was a time when they were in the forefront of art and alternative cinema, and unafraid of tackling serious issues of poverty, corruption, religious inclusion… In the last decade they have got quagmired in some conservative mediocrity while audience preferences and awareness have evolved. As long as movie-goers did not know what lay beyond Bollywood (as far as Indian cinema was concerned), the Bollywood formula worked. But, the rise of OTT services has made a whole variety of content available to consumers at the mere tap of a smartphone screen. Today’s moviegoer is exposed to ideas, narratives and experiential storytelling, from across the globe and they are no longer satisfied by the substandard fare meted out by Hindi film industry. Bollywood must recognise there is a lot more content that it has to compete with – be it YouTube, Instagram, TikTok reels to reality TV shows, which its Southern cousins have been able to adapt to.
Bollywood has an urgent need to shake itself out of this stupor, because its stagnation has had a tangible financial impact on cinema houses too. In fact, it is Hollywood and a smattering of decent Hindi hits like Jawaan, Pathan, Gubaar 2 and Rocky and Rani ki Prem Kahani that has helped prop up the box-office. Since last year, moviegoers have been flocking to the cinemas to watch big ticket releases like Top Gun, Mission Impossible, Indiana Jones, Oppenheimer and even Barbie. But at best this is a limited audience, and unless they rediscover their mojo quickly they and all the allied industries will continue to bleed.
How can Bollywood rediscover its mojo while staying quintessentially Bollywood? It certainly needs an injection of fresh content. Think of movies like Dil Chahta Hai, which upon its release spawned a whole new sub-genre within Bollywood. And while that genre did not appeal to everyone (impossible in a country as vast and diverse as ours), it had its dedicated fan base comprising mainly the urban youth. We therefore had the Dil Chahta Hai genre for the urban youth, we had the Shah Rukh Khan K-movie genre for the diehard romantics, we had the Salman Khan genre that catered again to a whole different audience and we had the hugely successful run of Akshay Kumar comedy films preceded by the action blockbuster sub-genre. In short, we had variety and that is what Bollywood, in my opinion needs now. But variety which is not created by rehashing old forms but by out-of-the-box fresh thinking. There will always be movies like Pathaan and Jawan that will have a demographic-spanning universal appeal. But equally maybe there is room for everything from minimalist low-budget movies and art films, to epics, romantic comedies, action blockbusters and thrillers to all co-exist. Bollywood also needs to stay away from the temptation to turn filmmaking into some set formula. This will drive it even further into oblivion.
The silver screen is where dreams and aspirations come alive. And Bollywood once again needs to dare to dream.
