why i stopped watching bollywood

growing up in delhi in the 90s, i used to be a huge bollywood fan, especially the yash raj films and king khan (yeah, don’t you lie, you too were).

as time went on and as i was exposed to better flicks through our age’s biggest invention — internet, i developed a varied cinematic taste, full of naturalism and realistic drama, especially by the likes of martin scorsese and quentin tarantino. there was no looking back. shahrukh and salman eventually became two of the several bollywood butts of my jokes.

in india, cinema is not a director’s territory; the producer dictates the rules here. there are a few exceptions though — mani ratnam in the 90s and anurag kashyap & dibakar banerjee in the 2000s have managed to create exceptional films, and with actors like nawazuddin siddiqui dominating the mainstream, there is some flicker of hope, but then rampant commercialization and mass audiences willing to spend on masala weekends have made it difficult for creativity to sustain for long.

it seems we have to wait for an indian version of a christopher nolan or a steven spielberg to take on the hindi film industry with creativity, innovation and excellence. here’s something samved iyer states about bollywood on quora:

“I hate Bollywood because most of the films it churns out are 3rd class and total crap. The same love story again and again with different locations and actors. And their acting is also totally stupid. AND SONGS ARE TOTALLY TERRIBLE!!!! Without a shred of meaning in them.

I miss the acting we used to see in the old films. Those beautiful songs still are remembered by many people. And the acting was superb. The dialogue delivery was so powerful that people used to get goosebumps on hearing them. The intensity on the face while delivering the dialogues, the unbeatable background music and the melodious songs are all a thing of the past.

And now you have the same crap story with different actors. What the hell? Does Karan Johar really think he did something great with that insane ADHM? I just knew it that it was going to be boring. I didn’t see it and I will never see it. Only Bollywood “worshippers” would go to any extent to praise that kind of crap.

Not just ADHM.

Ek dhoondho, hazaar milte hain. (Search for one, you’ll get thousands (of this kind of crap!!)

Sadly, most of the audience is still moronic enough to let 3rd class films make it to the 100+ crore club. That is why the lazy directors repeat the same shit again and again. Fault of both; audience and directors. Because the directors just loot people by same films and audience gladly allows itself to be looted in spite of knowing that it shall be the same crap

Fortunately, few intelligent people avoid this trap and so, they do hate Bollywood because of this.

A picture was circulated on G+ where an Indian Army soldier travelling in a train was conveniently ignored by people. No one offered him a seat and he had to sleep on the floor.

But I can guarantee that the same people will flock to a Bollywood celebrity in thousands just to get his or her damn autograph. Worshippers will even seek their blessings!!!!

I hate Bollywood for glorifying itself too much and regularly fooling the audience. But people also aren’t any less.

Frankly, the only actor I admire is Nana Patekar. Simple, down-to-earth man, downright patriot, doesn’t give himself excess importance, lives away from all that “Bollywood glamour”, regularly engages in charity by donating money to families of farmers. He was also seen with the BSF (Border Security Force) soldiers to encourage them.”