Anupam Kher on failure of Bollywood films: Hindi cinema has become distracted

In an exclusive interview with India Today Digital, Anupam Kher acknowledged the challenges faced by Bollywood in securing hits today.

In Short

• Anupam Kher acknowledges current challenges of Bollywood
• He emphasises the need for Hindi cinema to tell diverse Indian stories
• Kher's next film, Vijay 69, releases on November 8

Veteran actor Anupam Kher, who has witnessed the industry's ups and downs throughout his decades-spanning career, recently shared his thoughts on the trend of re-releases and reflected on Bollywood's current struggles in securing successful releases.

For Kher, re-releases serve as a nostalgic revival for both fans and filmmakers. In an interview with India Today Digital, he explained, "It's nostalgia. When Khosla Ka Ghosla was re-released, its dialogues were iconic, like the 'Kitne Aadmi The' dialogue from Sholay. I think people like to revisit these films—it's like retro music, like listening to old songs. When you play antakshari, you never sing new songs; you sing the older songs that have stuck with you. It's the same with old films."

With over 500 films to his credit, Anupam Kher has had his fair share of cinematic milestones. When asked which of his films he would love to see re-released in theatres, Kher said, "Without a doubt, Saaransh," referring to the 1984 Mahesh Bhatt directorial that marked his breakthrough in Bollywood.

He added, "Also, recently DDLJ and Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein were re-released. Apart from these, Shola Aur Shabnam could be re-released too; it was a very funny film."

However, despite this wave of nostalgia, Kher acknowledged the challenges Bollywood faces today, especially when it comes to securing successful releases for newer films.

"I think Hindi films need to find their groove, and I'm not saying this as an expert. I'm saying it as someone who has been in movies for a long time. In the '90s, cinema was about pure entertainment and innocence, and people loved that. Regional cinema has retained the 'Indianness' of cinema, but Hindi cinema, on the other hand, has become distracted. We need to tell stories of modern India. We need to tell stories of ancient India as well, but we need to share stories of India."

He continued, "Our major asset was that we celebrated life. Whether it was DDLJ, Haseena Maan Jaayegi, David Dhawan films, or other films—whether it was a simple film from Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Basu Chatterjee, or even Ramesh Sippy or Yash Chopra. Even some films by Rohit Shetty, Dibakar Banerjee, Khosla Ka Ghosla, Neeraj Pandey's A Wednesday, and Special 26—they told stories with a certain amount of originality. But now, I think we feel like we've seen it all before. This phase is something only Hindi cinema is going through."

Kher further added, "It's fascinating that some films are doing very well, but it still doesn't compensate for the many films that aren't successful. At the same time, when you see films like Kantara, Pushpa, or other South Indian films, they have a rustic 'Indianness' to them. That being said, I'm sure we will come out of this phase soon."

Meanwhile, Anupam Kher is gearing up for the release of Vijay 69, which is set to release on November 8.