R Madhavan Says South Films Empower Small-Town Stories: 'High-Budget Hindi Films Have Been Elitist' | Exclusive
R Madhavan weighed in on the Bollywood vs South industry debate during an exclusive chat with News18 Showsha.
In recent years, South Indian films have seen impressive box office success, often outperforming Bollywood films. Movies like RRR and KGF: Chapter 2 not only ruled the domestic market but also made a huge splash internationally. This success has led to discussions about the changing landscape of the Indian film industry and the shifting tastes of audiences. R Madhavan, who has straddled both the industries with ease, weighed in on the topic during an exclusive chat with News18 Showsha.
Pointing out that Bollywood has been largely focussing on elitist content, he said, “If you observe the kind of high-budget Hindi films that have come out in the last two to three years, they have all been fairly elitist — movies about jingoism, patriotism or highly elitist themes sought all over the world. On the other hand, if you look at the high-budget films coming out of SS Rajamouli and the Telugu industry, they are very rooted in the ground or in the history of smaller towns in India. They spend a lot of money to make films like Baahubali, RRR or Pushpa. They invest a lot of effort into portraying these stories and giving them power."
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Saying that Hindi cinema has had success with more elitist high-budget films like War or Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s films, he said, “The Hindi industry has ultimate talent, but the storytelling aspect and pace will definitely change in the future because of the outcome of many recent films. However, there is no shortage of talent or technological power in Hindi cinema. It’s a cycle. Malayalam cinema is now focusing mainly on content, characters, and performance without big budgets. The Telugu industry will sometimes release a big-budget film that completely flops, which is also a reality. The industry is going through a metamorphosis and will soon surprise the world with a completely new type of content."
R Madhavan will be seen in ZEE5’s Hisaab Barabar.
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