Shamshera, Laal Singh Chaddha and Samrat Prithviraj—led to the unkind diagnosis of Bollywood brain fog. Otherwise, too, the film industry is under siege.
An unhinged campaign against the film world after the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput has given way to organized boycott campaigns that seek to rally “true Hindus" against the film industry’s Muslim stars and its syncretic Amar-Akbar-Anthony nationalism.
Even jazzing up Hindu mythology did not save the actors of Brahmastra from being made targets in a larger culture war. In contrast, southern cinema has been notching up one testosterone-fuelled blockbuster after another.
Streaming platforms have opened up a universe of global cinematic content to our audiences. And the Hindi film industry desperately needs to reinvent it for the OTT-hungry viewer.