What ails Hindi cinema: It’s disconnected, disillusioned and disingenuous
2 years, 4 months ago

What ails Hindi cinema: It’s disconnected, disillusioned and disingenuous

Firstpost  

The movies that the Hindi film industry has produced lack both skill and substance, especially in comparison to south Indian films. In the last couple of months, some of the biggest failures of the Hindi film industry clearly demonstrate the latter’s lack of depth and also detachment from Bharatiya society. But, according to the Hindi film industry, the hero of Bharatiya society is Jayeshbhai Jordaar who believes in running away rather than facing the problem head on. The movie came at a time when ‘hijab’ and ‘burqa’ were hot topics, but the movie focused on ‘pallu’ and ‘ghunghat’ which have since the last two decades been the core of messaging around women empowerment in the Hindi film industry. Poor Mithali Raj was failed by the Hindi film industry, much like Bharatiya society.

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History of this topic

Poonawala-Dharma Productions deal: Why Bollywood studios are wooing non-film suitors
6 days, 14 hours ago

Poonawala-Dharma Productions deal: Why Bollywood studios are wooing non-film suitors

Live Mint  

Adar Poonawalla is a man who dons many hats. Strategic external funding has the potential to transform the entire film industry by addressing challenges across production, distribution, and exhibition, “When content studios get the funding they need, it doesn’t just benefit them, it raises the bar for the whole industry," said Parth Arora, co-founder and chief operating officer of The …

Churning in Hindi cinema forcing filmmakers to think differently: Manoj Bajpayee
1 week, 5 days ago

Churning in Hindi cinema forcing filmmakers to think differently: Manoj Bajpayee

Hindustan Times  

New Delhi, Hindi cinema is going through a lull phase but this churning will, hopefully, lead to something better as creative people always find a way, says actor Manoj Bajpayee. Churning in Hindi cinema forcing filmmakers to think differently: Manoj Bajpayee In a year where the box office once again appears to be dominated by blockbusters from the South like …

Content-driven films thrive with support from big stars in competitive market
1 month, 2 weeks ago

Content-driven films thrive with support from big stars in competitive market

Live Mint  

Laapataa Ladies and Meiyazhagan are both small-budget, content-driven films that have done well and won critical accolades. “The backing of mainstream stars like Suriya and Aamir Khan lends credibility and garners attention to content-driven films that otherwise might struggle for visibility,” said Devang Sampat, managing director, Cinepolis India. This can lead to strong word-of-mouth marketing, critical for such films.” Laapataa …

From the margins to the mainstream: how films are elevating marginalised voices
3 months, 1 week ago

From the margins to the mainstream: how films are elevating marginalised voices

The Hindu  

The recently released three mainstream films Thangalaan, Vaazhai, and Veda are of historic significance. By introducing powerful Dalit protagonists, these films advance a nascent but impressive journey of Dalit cinema, registering a claim for greater democratisation in the Indian film industry. A visible domination of a peculiar brand of films — often called the ‘masala entertainments’ — and filmmakers, mainly …

Indian cinema had a watershed moment at Cannes Film Festival 2024. Is the industry watching?
6 months, 4 weeks ago

Indian cinema had a watershed moment at Cannes Film Festival 2024. Is the industry watching?

Hindustan Times  

"Please don't wait another 30 years to have an Indian film," said director Payal Kapadia at the closing ceremony of the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival. Payal Kapadia with her cast Chhaya Kadam, Divya Prabha and Kani Kusruti after she was awarded with the Grand Prix for the film All We Imagine as Light by Viola Davis during …

Indie films in focus
8 months, 1 week ago

Indie films in focus

The Hindu  

Sanjeev Kumar Bijli, the Executive Director of multiplex chain PVR INOX saw the script of Civil War at the American Film Market last year and found the story incredible. Later when he watched it at the Berlin Film Festival he felt the Alex Garland directed dystopian film about journalists travelling across the United States during a civil war is a …

Book Review | Appreciating Melodrama: Challenging Western perceptions Piyush Roy offers a fresh view on Indian cinema
1 year, 3 months ago

Book Review | Appreciating Melodrama: Challenging Western perceptions Piyush Roy offers a fresh view on Indian cinema

Firstpost  

Melodrama, as an art form, has a rich history that continues to captivate audiences worldwide with its emotional intensity and dramatic storytelling. In the book Appreciating Melodrama: Theory and Practice in Indian Cinema and Television by Piyush Roy, the author explores and acknowledges the enduring impact of the ancient Sanskrit drama treatise, the Natyashastra, and its aesthetics theory, the ‘Rasa’ …

From Aamir Khan's Dangal to Salman Khan's Bajrangi Bhaijaan, China's love affair with Hindi cinema
1 year, 7 months ago

From Aamir Khan's Dangal to Salman Khan's Bajrangi Bhaijaan, China's love affair with Hindi cinema

Firstpost  

Indian films have found both fans and revenues in China shores. Indian cinema gaining popularity across the world, particularly in China, which has a vast and growing film market. The films, which include popular Dangal, PK, Secret Superstar, Andhadhun, 3 Idiots, and Bajrangi Bhaijaan are helping to showcase the diversity and richness of Indian culture and society and bring our …

The rash of remakes of south Indian movies by the Bombay industry
1 year, 7 months ago

The rash of remakes of south Indian movies by the Bombay industry

The Hindu  

For more than a year, the Hindi film industry is unspooling a popular concept of computer science on the screen: garbage in, garbage out. Bachchhan Paandey, Jersey, Cuttputli, Hit, Vikram Vedha, Mili, Drishyam-2, Cirkus, Selfiee, Shehzada, Bholaa, Gumraah, and Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan — there has been a glut of remakes of South Indian masala. Later, Priyadarshan showed …

I would have been nowhere without films: Bellamkonda Sreenivas
1 year, 7 months ago

I would have been nowhere without films: Bellamkonda Sreenivas

Deccan Chronicle  

Bellamkonda Sreenivas is as honest as one can get. People can call it nepotism, but I did not know anything else,” says Sreenivas candidly. I don’t want anyone to say that I didn’t try hard enough,” adds Sreenivas about the movie directed by VV Vinayak. Sreenivas says director Boyapati Srinu, who made Jatya Janaki Nayaka with him in the lead, …

Why Indian cinema needs a pivot and how creative producers can help balance commerce with the art of filmmaking
1 year, 10 months ago

Why Indian cinema needs a pivot and how creative producers can help balance commerce with the art of filmmaking

The Hindu  

Over the last few years, Korean content has permeated the world. The work towards putting Korean culture on the world stage began more than two decades ago, championed by creative producers such as Miky Lee, vice chairperson of entertainment company CJ ENM and Chan-wook, who produces through the company Moho Films In the context of Indian filmed entertainment, however, this …

‘Cinema of aspiration’: The romance filmmakers who redefined Bollywood’s quintessential genre
1 year, 10 months ago

‘Cinema of aspiration’: The romance filmmakers who redefined Bollywood’s quintessential genre

CNN  

CNN — A woman in a billowy white dress runs through a bright green and yellow field, her long hair streaming behind her as she reunites with the man she loves in “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge,” one of the most successful Indian movies of all time. “DDLJ” was produced by the late Yash Chopra, a man often referred to as …

Why Pathaan's success is good news for the South film industry | OPINION
1 year, 10 months ago

Why Pathaan's success is good news for the South film industry | OPINION

India Today  

Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan collected Rs 634 crore gross worldwide in its first week of release. The South film industry, too, is celebrating the success of Pathaan and many may be wondering why, given that it’s a Hindi film. The Hindi heartland has been consuming such content in single screens for many years now and the South film industry banks …

An open letter to the Indian film industry
1 year, 11 months ago

An open letter to the Indian film industry

The Hindu  

In 1938, Charlie Chaplin started work on The Great Dictator. India’s film industries are now a site of ideological and political contestation, as The Kashmir Files and Pathaan controversies highlight. Motivated by their ideological imperatives, these regressive forces need to constantly reinforce two things to their core vote bank, namely that broad-minded, outspoken and disruptive actors/filmmakers cannot shape India’s image …

The best and worst of Bollywood in 2022: How Hindi cinema fared post the pandemic
2 years ago

The best and worst of Bollywood in 2022: How Hindi cinema fared post the pandemic

The Hindu  

Towards the end of 2021, when one reached Delite Diamond — a single-screen theatre at the cusp of Old Delhi — to watch the press show of Ranveer Singh’s much-awaited 83, a flummoxed usher asked the critics to wait because the previous show was houseful. He says the producers felt reducing the ticket price of a film headlined by a …

Small town India is where Bollywood goes to die
2 years ago

Small town India is where Bollywood goes to die

Live Mint  

On a balmy Friday afternoon, Nasir Hussain is waiting impatiently for his friends at a mall in Rajasthan’s dusty, industrial town of Bhiwadi. “Hollywood remains my favourite," he says, adding that he has more recently discovered fantasy dramas like Game of Thrones and The Witcher on streaming platforms that he prefers to watch, dubbed in Hindi of course. It’s fun …

Bollywood is in a crisis — it either changes, or dies
2 years, 1 month ago

Bollywood is in a crisis — it either changes, or dies

Al Jazeera  

The Hindi film industry needs to learn from its South Indian counterparts and reinvent its storytelling. These heavily advertised flops include Kumar’s Bachchan Pandey, Kapoor’s Shamshera and Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha – a Hindi remake of Forrest Gump. Most recently, ace director Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyan Selvan: I, based on a classic Tamil tale, has become the fourth-highest-grossing film of all …

Explained: Why films like Kantara and Ponniyin Selvan: 1 emerged pan-India box office winners
2 years, 1 month ago

Explained: Why films like Kantara and Ponniyin Selvan: 1 emerged pan-India box office winners

Firstpost  

On 30th September, two south films - Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan and Rishab Shetty’s Kantara released at the box office and turned out to be winners across the country. Now, the biggest common point between these two south films is that they explore our country’s traditional roots, which are culturally rich and filled with many mysteries. She later pointed out …

Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur returns with his first rom-com, ‘What’s Love Got to Do With It?’
2 years, 1 month ago

Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur returns with his first rom-com, ‘What’s Love Got to Do With It?’

The Hindu  

A rare Indian filmmaker with a genuinely global profile, Shekhar Kapur has eked out only seven narrative features in a career spanning 40 years. “Digital has such great depth of field that there is no out-focus,” he says, explaining how the ‘film look’ is an emotional way of telling a story. The film look is much more like how we …

Irshad Kamil: Steps have been taken to improve the presence of Hindi in films
2 years, 3 months ago

Irshad Kamil: Steps have been taken to improve the presence of Hindi in films

Hindustan Times  

Having been a student of Hindi literature and someone with a doctorate in Hindi, lyricist-poet Irshad Kamil loves the language. Irshad Kamil: Steps have been taken to improve the presence of Hindi in films Irshad Kamil On presence of Hindi in Bollywood music: Today, every music creator is making music for a pan-India audience. So, in today’s Hindi film music, …

Boycott Bollywood, OTT vs Theatre Have Stirred Up Movie Industry but What Are Viewers Really Looking For?
2 years, 4 months ago

Boycott Bollywood, OTT vs Theatre Have Stirred Up Movie Industry but What Are Viewers Really Looking For?

News 18  

Cineworld, the second largest theatre chain globally, is inching closer to its demise. Out of all films Khan has done in this millennium, ‘Lal Singh Chadha’ opened to the weakest financial response — just Rs 11.7 crore. Take ‘Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2’, ‘Kashmir Files’, and other south Indian films like ‘RRR’, which attracted people to the cinema hall in large numbers,” …

Gulshan Devaiah: 'It was my childhood dream to be part of Hindi films'
2 years, 4 months ago

Gulshan Devaiah: 'It was my childhood dream to be part of Hindi films'

Firstpost  

The talented and versatile actor Gulshan Devaiah, who impressed us with his impeccable performances in films like Shaitan, Hunterr, Commando 3 and others, is gearing up for the release of Duranga, which is set to stream from tomorrow on Zee 5. I think one particular comment that ki mann atak gaya, something that was really cute because that’s a reference …

From Nehru to New India: Five films that capture Hindi cinema’s 75-year journey
2 years, 4 months ago

From Nehru to New India: Five films that capture Hindi cinema’s 75-year journey

Firstpost  

Nothing can be a bigger testimony of New India in cinema than ‘Uri: The Surgical Strike’, and the reaction of the critics and audiences sums up the 75-year journey One of the most powerful communication tools, cinema, has long been used by powers across nations to craft the thinking of its people. Majrooh was imprisoned for an anti-Nehru line in …

DC Edit | South films’ moment of glory
2 years, 7 months ago

DC Edit | South films’ moment of glory

Deccan Chronicle  

Money no more holds a monopoly of association with the word “afford” than Bollywood, or the Hindi film industry, has over the notion of being India’s entertainer. Beyond box office collections, a crucial but simultaneously irrelevant aspect to most people, the South Indian film industry has grabbed the attention of the country. The Tamil film industry has created superstars for …

Bollywood’s flop streak: Lessons in marketing and release that Hindi filmmakers can learn from the South
2 years, 7 months ago

Bollywood’s flop streak: Lessons in marketing and release that Hindi filmmakers can learn from the South

Firstpost  

Here’s an unkind one that dropped recently about Bollywood stars. The audience isn’t necessarily boycotting Bollywood, and the fact is evident from the positive show of three Hindi releases since November last year. Sanjay Leela Bhansali ’s Alia Bhatt-starrer Gangubai Kathiawadi has grossed Rs 128.89 crore so far and is dubbed ‘Average’, a status accorded to films that recover investment. …

Baahubali, Pushpa, RRR: The South Rises as Bollywood Appears Fake, Out of Touch
2 years, 11 months ago

Baahubali, Pushpa, RRR: The South Rises as Bollywood Appears Fake, Out of Touch

News 18  

It is one of the most awaited films of the year and a Hindi film superstar, Ajay Devgn, appears in it for mere 15 minutes. Since then, the success of Baahubali 2: The Conclusion and KGF: Chapter 1, a COVID-induced lockdown on box office revenue, the emergence of streaming platforms and Bollywood’s confused narrative have ensured the rise of the …

Ratna Pathak Shah on BAFTA Breakthrough India, why south Indian films trump in originality, and more
3 years ago

Ratna Pathak Shah on BAFTA Breakthrough India, why south Indian films trump in originality, and more

The Hindu  

After last year’s success, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts has once again initiated their Breakthrough programme, in partnership with Netflix, to nurture prospective talent across film, games and television industries. The trio will help BAFTA navigate India’s diverse and creative talent pool as well as educate audiences about the charitable remit; increasing opportunities for people to pursue …

With Jai Bhim, Tamil cinema yet again depicts caste realities more vigorously than any other contemporary film industry
3 years, 1 month ago

With Jai Bhim, Tamil cinema yet again depicts caste realities more vigorously than any other contemporary film industry

Firstpost  

There is a perception that Malayalam film industry is ahead of Tamil cinema in depicting caste realities but the former never does so as explicitly, and with leading stars that ensures wide dissemination. In the last couple of years itself, Tamil cinema has given us films like Asuran, Karnan, Sarpatta Parambarai and the most recent addition, Jai Bhim which has …

Tracing Satyajit Ray's influence on Hindi cinema; Netflix anthology on auteur's short stories is only a drop in the ocean
3 years, 6 months ago

Tracing Satyajit Ray's influence on Hindi cinema; Netflix anthology on auteur's short stories is only a drop in the ocean

Firstpost  

In one of the most famous quotes to emerge from the world of cinema, Akira Kurosawa once said, “Not to have seen the cinema of Ray means existing in the world without seeing the sun or the moon.” Satyajit Ray, the auteur from Bengal, whose centenary year we continue to celebrate, put Indian cinema on the world map in the …

Mumbai is heart of Hindi film industry, nobody can take it anywhere: IMPPA
4 years ago

Mumbai is heart of Hindi film industry, nobody can take it anywhere: IMPPA

New Indian Express  

"In the present economic scenario as the lock down pandemic continues to wreak havoc the birth place of Hindi Cinema is gradually becoming the graveyard and we have repeatedly pleaded that necessary steps need to be taken to save the Hindi film industry. We are happy that at least now you have kindly realised that this industry which has provided …

Raveena Tandon: It’s the first time in history that the film industry is united
4 years, 2 months ago

Raveena Tandon: It’s the first time in history that the film industry is united

Hindustan Times  

The Hindi film industry over the past few months has been at the receiving end of a lot of negative comments from society at large. Actor Raveena Tandon wants a clean up of the entire country, and not just the film industry. Actor Raveena Tandon is very proud of the film industry for taking this step. “The fact that it’s …

Hindi Cinema is Capable of Healing and Strengthening Itself, Writes Prasoon Joshi
4 years, 2 months ago

Hindi Cinema is Capable of Healing and Strengthening Itself, Writes Prasoon Joshi

News 18  

Cinema, over the last century, has welded itself into the cultural narrative, achieving an impact that no other singular medium could. Let’s understand more intricately why Cinema related issues have become increasingly polemical. What was forgotten was that cinema and many professional industries that emanate from art could not be judged like other businesses, or balance sheet made chief spokesperson. …

Bollywood is capable of healing and strengthening itself, writes Prasoon Joshi
4 years, 2 months ago

Bollywood is capable of healing and strengthening itself, writes Prasoon Joshi

Firstpost  

Today, questions have arisen about the increasingly unsavoury aspects of the film industry and in particular, Bollywood. Let’s understand more intricately why Cinema related issues have become increasingly polemical. Let’s understand more intricately why cinema related issues have become increasingly polemical. And what was forgotten was that cinema and many professional industries that emanate from Art could not be judged …

Kangana Ranaut Urges to Save Film Industry from Various Terrorists Including Sexism, Nepotism, Drug Mafia
4 years, 3 months ago

Kangana Ranaut Urges to Save Film Industry from Various Terrorists Including Sexism, Nepotism, Drug Mafia

News 18  

Actress Kangana Ranaut says she wants film industries of different states to have a collective identity, and claims she wants to save the industry from terrorists such as the nepotism brigade and the drug mafia. Telugu film industry has ascended itself to the top position and now catering films to pan India in multiple languages, many hindi films being shot …

With roots in kinship and stardom, how Bollywood continues to fuel nepotism despite being an 'industry'
4 years, 4 months ago

With roots in kinship and stardom, how Bollywood continues to fuel nepotism despite being an 'industry'

Firstpost  

Nepotism is encouraged, above all, by a film industry marked by high risk and volatility. A politically conscious ‘woke’ discourse has since steadily shaped the liberal demand for reform in the film industry, especially mobilising around the issues of nepotism and sexual harassment post-MeToo. At least until the mid-’40s, well-organised film companies like Bombay Talkies, Kohinoor and Ranjit Movietone that …

How Hindi films edged closer to Hollywood over the past decade
4 years, 5 months ago

How Hindi films edged closer to Hollywood over the past decade

Live Mint  

A typical Indian film comes packed with action, drama, romance, comedy and thrill, all in a span of two to three hours. The most common genres in Hindi films in the 2010s were drama, comedy and thrillers, as how Hollywood has always been. Graphic: Mint For each decade since the 1960s, we recorded the most common genres across feature films …

Bollywood’s many maladies
4 years, 5 months ago

Bollywood’s many maladies

The Hindu  

The suicide of actor Sushant Singh Rajput has instigated a discussion on how certain individuals or families control the film industry and often exclude the ‘outsider’. There are allegations that certain powerful elites decide the flow of the industry’s economy and also distribute the privileges without much concern for professional ethics. A discussion on Bollywood’s middle-class bias would also demonstrate …

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