Veteran star Amitabh Bachchan has pitched in on the Bollywood vs South Indian discussion. The 81-year-old addressed students at the Symbiosis Film Festival in Pune, speaking about the criticism the film industry receives and the advantages and disadvantages of technological advancement in cinema.
He said, “Many times, the film industry comes under a lot of criticism and all kinds of accusations that you are responsible for changing the morals of the country and changing the attitude of the people. I’m sure that you know Jaya (Bachchan), who has studied formally at the Institute (FTII), would endorse the fact that stories and films are made from experiences that we noticed in nature, in the world, in everyday life, and that is what becomes our inspiration.”
Bachchan also recalled how his late father, noted poet and writer Harivansh Rai Bachchan. He said his father loved the poetic justice aspect of cinema. “Cinema in itself has its power. During the last years of my father’s life, every evening, he would watch a film on television on cassette. Many times, the films that he saw were repeated. I asked him every evening, ‘You have watched the film, don’t you get bored? What do you find in Hindi cinema? He said, ‘I’d get to see poetic justice in three hours. You and I will not get to see poetic justice in a lifetime.’ And that is the learning that cinema gives to all.”
Talking about the Bollywood and South Indian movie industry divide, Bachchan said it is incorrect to say that South cinema is doing better than the Hindi film industry. He said, “Regional cinema has been doing very well. But when we talk to them, they say they are making the same kind of films that we do in Hindi. They just change the dressing so that they look beautiful. A lot of the people I've met said, 'We are remaking your old films, there’s Deewar, Shakti and Sholay somewhere in all our stories.' Malayalam and some of the Tamil cinema is authentic and aesthetic. This whole idea of pointing fingers at a particular region and saying that unki aachi chal rahi hai, humari nahi (they are better than us) is not right.”