Bollywood veteran actor Sunny Deol has made some negative remarks about the current situation of Hindi cinema, claiming that the sector is bereft of passion and faith in movie making. By comparison, he feels that South Indian filmmakers learned from the best days of Bollywood and then overtook them in storytelling and direction.
Bollywood Losing Its Spark?
During a recent conversation, Sunny Deol expressed his views on the reasons why Bollywood has not been able to retain its supremacy over Indian cinema. He mentioned that the current generation of filmmakers don’t have faith in their content, and because of this reason, the industry is not making effective films.
“Filmmakers nowadays are so much concerned with staying in trends than producing a film with enthusiasm and conviction. We had such a wonderful industry, but along the way somewhere, we lost our identity,” Deol observed.
South Indian Cinema Surging Ahead
Deol appreciated South Indian films, admitting that their success is not a fluke. He feels that Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and Malayalam directors have learned from Bollywood’s history and have taken its positives while keeping away from the Hindi film industry’s follies.
“South filmmakers have learnt from us, adapted, and grown beyond our expectations. They are making larger-than-life movies while still keeping strong emotional and cultural roots,” Deol said.
With SS Rajamouli blockbusters, Lokesh Kanagaraj blockbusters, Atlee blockbusters, and Prashanth Neel blockbusters, South Indian movies have taken over the box office, sometimes beating Bollywood movies both within India and across the globe.
A Plea for Bollywood’s Revival
Notwithstanding his critique, Sunny Deol holds on to hope that Bollywood will be able to recapture its lost magic. He insisted that Hindi filmmakers should have faith in their tales and work towards content-driven films instead of seeking shallow fads.
“We need to film with heart again. The people can tell the difference between what is real and what is artificial. If we want to make Bollywood great again, we have to find that passion again,” Deol added.
Since Bollywood still remains plagued by threats of regional cinema as well as streaming giants from other countries, Sunny Deol’s statements come across as an awakening for the business to revolutionize itself and regain focus on actual storytelling.
