r/BollyBlindsNGossip • u/MedicbydayCatbynight • 1d ago
Discuss A whole generation losing an important connection because of dysfunctional Bollywood
No tea, just some spilling some feelings
As a person estranged from my (Indian) family and living abroad - watching bollywood movies was a massive way for me to feel connected to home, my roots and have something in common to bond over with other brown people
In the last 2-3 years, I feel like I have lost this connection because of one shit movie after another, with 2 dimensional scripts, actors and actresses who just can’t emote but won’t give up. Our benchmark for ‘good acting’ has gone to shit because of the amount of crap out there. (e.g Anaya Pandey being considered a talented actor??)
Along with the financial losses of flop movies, I don’t think the bosses in charge of Bollywood understand the CULTURAL loss they are causing for a whole generation of brown people who may not have another connection to home
If you’re reading this - KJO, JHANVI/KHUSHI KAPOOR, ANANYA PANDEY, IBRAHIM KHAN, and script-hoarding ALIA BHATT - yes you are a part if not the majority of the problem. Bye
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u/Fit_Pressure1524 1d ago
Yes truee!!! All they care is about Box office number and being a “Star” but sadly they are failing at both miserably and that greed and ego is costing True Bollywood fans a daily dose of our comfort and entertainment on which i lives thrived in both good and bad moments . Being a 90’s kid Bollywood was everything for me, an escape from reality, a friend when you had no friends, a comfortor in bad times, and so many emotions connected. And now i sadly repel it no matter how much i wish to support it and want it to thrive.
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u/MedicbydayCatbynight 1d ago
Exactly this!! The escape from reality into immersive scripts and acting is what’s missing
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u/Life_Ad1500 1d ago
What do you expect lapata ladies flop, Crazzy Flop, Maidan flop, movies which gave social relevance and talk about real issues are boycotted or protested against Pushpa 2 300 crore.. Bhoi makes bad movie still crosses 100 crore where is the motivation
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u/DataOwl666 1d ago
Mad world
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u/Life_Ad1500 1d ago
Forgot to add Nadaniyaan whatever reasons one of top viewership why would bollywood put effort yes you can argue now it has become business but if we as an audience shown that boss good movies and new concept will make money they will make such movies
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u/Radhashriq 1d ago
People watch anything for free. Those viewership numbers don’t mean anything
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u/Life_Ad1500 23h ago
That is where most ppl get it wrong it's subscription so not technically free and for OTT platforms in some cases only viewership counts doesn't matter if it's critically acclaimed or not or whether ppl watched it for fun or hate watched views are views
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u/Radhashriq 23h ago
I mean once its on the platform, all movies and TV show is same. That is why viewership data doesn’t matter that much.
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u/Life_Ad1500 23h ago
It matters cause that is how platforms decide to buy / greenlight seasons depending on viewership it's is quite possible they might fund a Dharmatic movie with nepo kids cause they know they will atleast get hate and troll viewership and might not greenlight Kohraa as it did not get viewership.
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u/Radhashriq 1d ago
100 crore is not the benchmark anyway. Sikandar is declared disaster at boxoffice, it is because EID it did that much.
Lapata Ladies still did great numbers for its genre and cast. Also became hit on OTT.
Pushpa 2 did 750 cr in hindi, not 300 cr. It is biggest hit in hindi of all times. We should be happy atleast one film is doing those numbers, otherwise most of theatres would shut down.
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u/Life_Ad1500 1d ago
By that matrix Nadiyaa did well in OTT Bollywood is business unless movies like Lapata ladies don't make money we won't get movies like that..there was a time when movies like Barelie ki Barfi broke BO
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u/weirdoreborn Channa Merya - Ek Tarfa Pyaar 1d ago
I recently moved abroad and had this same feeling. Been watching a lot of older films now that I ignored before
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u/NecessarySprinkles47 1d ago
What this also does is, it reduces the connection NRIs have with Bollywood. The generation before us has had a deeper connection with the industry and hence we've had Bollywood superstars stay relevant outside of India too. Like OP conveys, because of the lack of connection currently, our generation has lost interest and the generation that'll follow us will be driven even farther away.
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u/TheLastDetective 1d ago
I think the problem is bigger when the connection to the homeland is only through films. There are dozens of films being released, but for some reason people only watch and interact with the films of the Nepos and do not think about supporting other actors.
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u/MedicbydayCatbynight 1d ago
If you have a busy full-time job, unfortunately mass/pop movies are what are advertised and reach to you. And you patiently wait for movies like laapata ladies and Mrs once in a while The current ratio of watchable movies to shit movies is off and that’s what I’m trying to highlight
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u/Eternal-Wisdom-9999 Alia's Phataka Guddies 1d ago
yes and most movies don't even release abroad . maybe in 3-4 cities sporadically . usually nepo movies since those movies have the funding and marketing . non-nepo movies never make it to 99% of the cities if they get an abroad release if at all !
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u/MedicbydayCatbynight 1d ago
If you have any suggestions on how to easily find non nepo/mainstream films that are good, please do share though :)
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u/Human_Enthusiasm_900 1d ago
Problem is they think, is audience criticizing is simply noise and they don't understand they're entertainers and they are suppose to entertain atleast through the medium they choose.
I am a reader and if I pay money to read a book and it's shitty ofc I'll call it out so and if the writer keeps delivering shit they'll be criticized, it's part of their job to work on their craft.
These new age actors only care about the copy pasted aesthetic they think we care of because it gets views, but ofc it gets views because Instagram is a daily escapism medium while Movies are our much needed break which we just don't get because nothing or no one good is there.
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u/Routine-Guitar4354 1d ago
Bollywood ran out of ideas even the nepos can't act but atleast the script should be good but nah and ott's became a dumping ground for them even audience are at fault too recently naadaniyan who even watches this shit
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u/Upstairs-Belt8255 1d ago
Agreed 100% I feel bad for my future kids because they'll never get to connect with Indian culture the way that I did growing up.
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u/Relevant-Snow-4676 1d ago
As a kid, some of my favourite and anticipated events were going to my local cinema to watch a film with my family. The best ones were priyadarshan and Salman's action films. You simply can't get that quality these days. I can't imagine going the movies with my parents anymore because we know what a waste of money it will be to spend on these flop
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u/MedicbydayCatbynight 1d ago
This is a perfect example to capture that lack of connection in the stories/acting these days
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u/inmyelement 1d ago
So true. The face of BW has changed and the yesteryear stars that built BW are collectively rolling in their graves.
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u/Low_Object1999 1d ago
So true! I live in abroad too. And there was a time when I really wanted to watch so many amazing movies in the theaters coz I didn’t had a ride or anyone to go out and watch movies with. And now I have the people and the ride but sadly not even a single decent movie worth going to theaters for.
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u/kapilfan 1d ago
We are basically turning back to old movies for our Saturday matinees at Home. Watched DCH last week, just watched ZNMD to continue that vibe. Over the past 6 months, we watched/re-watched Parinda, Satya, Swades, Rang De Basanti, Rangeela, Baazigar, MNPK, Dev D, JWM etc. I can say I don't like some parts of these movies during the second watch, but the general nostalgia hit is enough to make me sit through and enjoy.
Agree totally with OP. No matter how hard I try to like the latest movies, they still disappoint me. Agree that there were some good movies here and there, but they still feel artificial or forced upon. Everything is in cookie cutter style as if they all came from the same playbook. I recently played a YT playlist curated automatically based on the genre and every fucking song sounded the same.
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u/6amrainclouds 1d ago
I'm sorry but they don't give a shit about you. Their heads are too far up inside their ass to care about anything except their own shit. The Janhvi Ananya gang is literally the most unintelligent, out of touch people to have come out of bollywood. They don't give two hoots about bollywood, or Indian culture and would rather die than work hard on their films. They will keep sleepwalking through films because they have no interest in making a good film, they only want their paycheck which keeps falling in their laps anyway.
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u/Humble-Tune-2307 1d ago
Film making is an art, the whole nepotism, box office numbers just ruined it . By attaching "superstar", "stars" terms they just want to massage their egos rather than becoming a "decent actor "
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u/Interesting-Fix6358 1d ago
This is so true! I feel so disconnected to the content of these movies even after being raised in India that I am pretty sure my kids won't even be introduced to this content! Instead of making them feel connected to India, I think I will end up pushing them away from India if they watch these movies..also not to forget this generation of actors that come out of a surgeon's office rather than an acting school will also be leading to body image issues!
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u/Long-Disaster-531 1d ago
This post feels like I have written my emotions, these Bollywood biggies are sacrificing whole industry just for their egos.
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u/doc_strawberry Gaslighter 🔥 23h ago edited 23h ago
your posts is sooo disturbing hope u get some help
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u/Tricky_Jackfruit9348 1d ago
What u said is absolutely true OP
For a change u can watch laapta ladies /12th fail
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u/Hell_holder11 1d ago
Lol the problem is you not the movies there are Dozens of movie being released in regional language also in bollywood but somehow you are only interacting & criticise the ones which are starring people "you dont like" here are some recommendations for you bollywood - laapata ladies , maidaan, superboys of malegaon, rocketboys, khakee, black warrant, diplomat , sarfira , khel khrl mein and more
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u/MedicbydayCatbynight 1d ago
As I said in another comment, the average person (working a hella busy job) is at the mercy of commercial cinema and the ratio of good to bad movies is currently off. Laapata ladies and Mrs have been the highlights for me recently, thanks for your other suggestions. If there is a platform/blog/critic that suggest good regional Hindi movies for someone unfamiliar, please do suggest :)
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u/bollymaniac 1d ago edited 1d ago
I am with you. After COVID Bollywood lost its mojo, looks confused if they want to entertain or go after south like movies. Top directors have failed. These all good movies according to critics look like OTT content that just don’t appeal me to go to theaters.
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u/Novel-Nature4551 1d ago
Chithi Aayi Hai ... In Bollywood right now we have Xerox Machine which became too old as we have copied so many movies in the past but now after Covid, people don't understand good movies (As per Anurag) , people have seen all kinds of Original movies on OTT and other platforms. They became so smart they found out Sholey to Lapata Ladies are also Xerox copies of other movies. Depending upon too much on SRK is also not good how long does he give hits as a hero? Nepotism also killed Bollywood. Even KJ sold his Dharma he knows the business is dead for his films. Rajshree Bhoi Khan, Dew Hrithik, Vimal D, Canda Kumar Bimal Vale are waiting for comeback. No New Talent is explored by these people. Yes this Xerox Machine is malfunctioning now. You are right.
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u/CGBoy16 1d ago
Nepotism is a problem. Talentless nepo kids being pushed on the audience is a problem. But let's not pretend they they are anyway close to being the major problem. Your post makes it sound as if Ananya Pandey is primarily responsible for the downfall of Bollywood.
News Flash: she's not.
We have absolute brainrot movies like Animal, Stree 2 , Gadar 2 etc becoming blockbusters. Every second film is either a franchise film or a historical or a Mass ( another word for logic less) movie.
Where is the good writing? Where are the good stories? You have movies being mounted on massive scales and their only concern is to become a 500 crore movie and not a good/great movie? And who can blame them? Samosa critics, audiences, people on reddit/Twitter only discuss 300 crore loading , 400 crore loading nonsense. You look at the posts on this sub. Most people conflate great box office numbers with being a great film and vice versa.
And it's not just Bollywood. South Indian ( Sorry " Pan Indian") movies that are now being hailed as being better than Bollywood have the same problems. Most of the mega blockbusters are absolute bullshit movies . Yet they are celebrated for having the "conviction ". Conviction of presenting garbage writing and loud acting ?
Where are the romances, the comedies, the slice of life movies, the masala films which are ridiculous yet feel within realms of reality? Everything now has to be massive, larger than life, Mass. These are the only movies getting theatrical release. Smaller films are being relegated to Streaming.
Remember a time when people used to be excited about a Baahubali or an SRK/Aamir release . It used to be a rare event and hence exciting. Now every 2 weeks we have a Mega release. What's the fun in that?
So as much as we vilify Naadaniyaan ( and it absolutely deserves to be vilified) , let's not make them the sole or even the major reason of the rot. The audience is just as much responsible for this downfall for glorifying absolute rubbish and elevating it to a blockbuster.
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u/switchmale4switchf 23h ago
"Brown people"...lol. To add, I think we were not exposed to high quality content from Europe and elsewhere (Korea, Japan etc.) Our only exposure to other cinema was towards large budget masala Hollywood so called blockbusters (barring a few like LOTR, Nolan's Batman trilogy etc.) which were more like the same of Bollywood on a larger scale (like Titanic). Thanks to OTTs we have now been exposed to higher quality production and content which has opened our eyes to the sub standard fare that Bollywood has delivered over decades (barring rare exceptions like Do Aankhen Baraah Haath, Kagaz ke Phool etc.). Bollywood doesn't seem to have learnt anything though and always seems they are stuck in the past and continue to not consider that their audience has evolved and is demanding them to pull up their act. They are refusing to do that, and the cartel or close knit clubs of few of the families that control everything is not helping it's cause. Much more talent needs to come in (can happen only when the control of the few families is dismantled), better scripts and higher quality production and better directors need to come in. Until then, we will see Bollywood go down deeper into it's own grave.
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u/6by6Hindsight 1d ago
Why do you have to watch Bollywood movies to connect to India, there are several other industry movies also which can helps you connect to Indian roots and they're rather good as well.
Also, what does a movie flopping has to do with feeling connected to the country? You go wat h what movie you think you'd like. Why do you care about Ananya or Jhanvi movies?
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u/MedicbydayCatbynight 1d ago
I only speak Hindi so limited by language
I’m trying to connect to my culture (not country per se) in absence of having family to do this I don’t care about flops or hits, I care about feeling some from connection or emotion which a higher proportion of even commercial movies in the past did
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u/jupiterr869 1d ago
Buddy you don't have to watch the movies of Kjo and others you mentioned at the bottom. No one has forced you to. There are many many other producers and actors in the industry making movies. Go and watch them? And if you're still really missing Indian culture that much you can just come back and live here.
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u/likekinky 18h ago
Rewatching the OG Mahabharat, Ramadan, and pre-2000s movies for this exact reason. My parents were not even born in India but their parents were, so they've gone through the whole 'how to connect with the motherland' struggle themselves. My focus is to connect with them. Consume media they love and enjoy and lean on. Neo Bollywood is bekaar at the moment.
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u/Historical-Credit268 1h ago
What I miss about old Bollywood is there was something for everyone. Once in a while there were movies for children, some religious or baghban kinda ( fav movie of my grandmom ahem ahem :D ). As a teenager I used to cuss why can’t they make movies like in Hollywood. Now here we are racing backwards.
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u/Little-Carry3370 Proud Gossiper 🤙 1d ago
Please, dude, never use bollywood to stay connected to your roots. It was never an accurate representation of our culture.
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u/mwid_ptxku 1d ago edited 1d ago
That "connection"was always nonsense. The misogynistic stories/songs/dances in the 80s and 90s did not represent India at all - India was and is misogynistic in completely different ways.
Most superhit movies of Amitabh, Khans, Akshay Kumar etc. did not represent Indian culture in a major way.
Even the language spoken in most Indian movies is very different from real life - if someone speaks like in movies, it is obvious he/she is being "filmy".
The representation of caste, which is a huge issue for Indians is nearly non-existent or portrayed very incorrectly - because the inter-religion and intercaste marrying film elites have no idea of the real world.
If this wakes you up to a "real" connection with India, you might consider thanking these people you have named in capital letters.
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