'They even dream in English': Javed Akhtar slams Bollywood filmmakers, says south cinema is succeeding because...

Economic Times

3 days ago

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How is South India succeeding
Javed Akhtar on working with his children
Is Bollywood losing its soul in the race for spectacle and scale? Veteran lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar seems to think so. In a sharply worded critique, Akhtar has reignited the debate over Hindi cinema's identity crisis, questioning why it struggles to create depth, relatability, or rooted narratives. Meanwhile, he points to the roaring success of South Indian films, made for their local audiences by filmmakers who've stayed grounded in their culture and land.In a recent interview with The Lallantop, Akhtar didn't mince words. 'They dream in English,' he said of many modern-day Hindi filmmakers, blaming their lack of cultural connection for Bollywood's increasingly superficial storytelling. According to him, these creators—largely second-generation migrants raised in Mumbai's cosmopolitan bubble—have grown distant from their regional heritage. Their parents may have held onto their roots, but the new generation has swapped earthy storytelling for flashy action and pan-India ambition.Akhtar contrasted this with South Indian cinema—Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam—which he praised for its cultural clarity and local focus. 'South Indian movies are made by people from those regions, for those regions,' he noted. 'They haven't migrated. They're still working where they were born. That rootedness shows in the stories they tell.'Javed Akhtar recently reflected on the challenges of working with his children, Zoya and Farhan Akhtar . He admitted it's tougher to collaborate with them than with other filmmakers, as they hold him to high professional standards despite their personal bond. He revealed that Zoya, in particular, is a tough taskmaster who expects nothing less than excellence. Javed also spoke about how the siblings, though both talented, have distinct cinematic styles. Farhan leans toward a different storytelling approach than Zoya, and vice versa. Their creative visions belong to entirely different schools of filmmaking, and according to him, neither could replicate the other's work. Still, he takes pride in the fact that both are thriving in their own lanes, carving unique paths in Indian cinema