Kamal Haasan advises Bollywood filmmakers: ‘Watch Hindi, Bengali films before English films’

Filmmakers Kamal Haasan, SS Rajamouli and Prithviraj Sukumaran weighed in on Bollywood's current predicament. And they did so with great empathy and awareness of the fact that the narrative could reverse any given Friday.

Kamal Haasan at Vikram audio and trailer launch. (Photo: Twitter/ RKFI)

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The year 2022 is when Bollywood filmmakers came face to face with harsh reality of dropping box office returns and an overall churn in the film industry. The pandemic fundamentally changed the audience and the cinema patrons were no longer responding to Hindi movies like they used to. At a time when Bollywood was groping in the dark as to how to win over the admiration once again, the filmmakers in the south broke barriers and expanded the market for their films globally.

During a recent actors’ roundtable, the stalwarts of south cinema weighed in on Bollywood’s current predicament. And they did so with great empathy and awareness of the fact that the narrative could reverse any given Friday.

Also Read | KGF 2, Kantara and beyond: How Kannada film industry emerged as 2022’s biggest success story, and what lies ahead

Filmmaker-actor Kamal Haasan recalled the time when he looked to Hindi cinema for inspiration.

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“Before watching English films, watch Indian films. Watch Hindi cinema and Bengali cinema. Because when you say that Hindi cinema doesn’t know, some of my greatest inspirations have come from Hindi cinema. Some of those who I respect very much are from Hindi cinema. There’s something called Uttarayan and Dakshinayan. The sunshine according to the way the commercial world moves. Right now, it’s shining here (in the south). We hope to keep it that way,” Kamal said at The Film Companion’s The Filmmakers’ Adda.

In 2022, Kamal pulled himself out of a rut by delivering one of the biggest hits of his career. Vikram, written and directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj, sold more than Rs 400 crore worth of tickets globally. And he has also lined up other big projects, including one with Mani Ratnam in the works.

Kamal noted that staying in touch with the reality of changing times was key to making popular films. “When Shantaram ji was making Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani, he was directly the man on the street. When he moved away and became a film industry baron, he knew his connection was going so he made Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje and Navarang. It’s another world he created,” he explained.

Filmmaker SS Rajamouli also weighed in. He noted that comfort was the biggest enemy of creativity. “If your film is doing good business at the moment of the announcement, you tend to get complacent,” he said.

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Rajamouli is basking in the global success of his latest blockbuster RRR, which recently earned two Golden Globes nominations increasing the film’s chances of getting nominations at the Oscars.

Actor-filmmaker Prithviraj Sukumaran also agreed with Kamal’s assessment of the current predicament of Bollywood. And he believed it was just a matter of time before Bollywood bounced back. “I get the question about North Indian cinema not being able to crack the commercial cinema code. Not too long ago, we all wondered how are they (Hindi filmmakers) doing it. How is Hindi cinema able to open up a huge overseas market? This I believe is a phase. One big hit, maybe it’s Pathaan. I know some (Hindi) films which are already on the floor and some are really exciting. One big film after another big film, the whole narrative will change,” Prithviraj said.

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