Vivek Agnihotri criticises Bollywood, claims actors can't even speak Hindi

Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri has commented on the current state of the Hindi film industry, following Anurag Kashyap's remarks. The director highlighted that new-age actors don't know how to speak Hindi and claimed there are "no promising new stars" in the 21-35 age group. He also criticised filmmakers for inflating box office numbers to create a false perception of success.

Agnihotri, who directed The Kashmir Files, shared a note titled 'BOLLYWOOD IS FALLING', calling the decline of the Hindi film industry "the best thing to happen." He wrote, "Bollywood is in shambles. And that’s good for the industry. To erect a new building, you must demolish the old one. This is that time."

The filmmaker argued that, instead of a "passion for cinema," "corporate greed and agenda-driven content" are driving filmmaking today.

"Today, Bollywood has hardly any independent producers. No new producers. No fresh ideas. No innovative distribution or marketing strategies. A few years ago, there were a dozen studiosnow just two or three remain, and they too are monopolistic and here for reasons other than filmmaking. The passion for cinema has been replaced by corporate greed and agenda-driven content," he wrote.

He continued, "There are no moviesthat’s why there’s a mad rush to release old films. Most directors who could have made a difference in these critical times have given up and succumbed to OTT."

Commenting on new-age actors, Agnihotri wrote, "For the film business to survive, star-actors are essential. But there are no promising new stars. If you want to cast someone from the 2135 age group, you’ll find almost noneneither heroes nor heroines. The few that exist can’t speak Hindi, can’t emote, and seem more interested in Instagram than their own craft. And without having achieved



much, they come with an entouragemanagers, social media teams, trainers, and whatnot."

And if someone chooses to cast "unknown or outsider" actors from "humble backgrounds," Agnihotri said, "you stand no chance of getting funding, distribution, or marketing."

On inflated box office numbers, the filmmaker added, "The box office, once the ultimate test of a film, has now become a hoax office. You can publish any figure, give away free tickets, arrange corporate bookings, manipulate BookMyShowdo whatever you want. It’s a free-for-all. Everyone’s screaming about box office numbers, but their films have nothing to say."

He further stated, "No wonder, as always, Bollywood chose the easy way out: manipulation and corruption. The irony? The mighty ones who created this corrupt chakravyuh are now playing the victims. The monster they built is ready to swallow them. And I’m happy. I hope it does. I hope it devours them so they can reincarnatethis time as pure film creators, not monster-makers."

Concluding his note, Agnihotri called on young, aspiring filmmakers to "build a new Hindi film industry," or else he believes Bollywood should be renamed "Instawood."

"The team we worked with on The Delhi Files was full of small-town, vernacular boys and girls. Many of them will succeed and make great filmsprovided the monster eats up this old, broken, and extremely corrupt system. If you’re a middle-class, small-time young storyteller willing to sacrifice for your craftthis is your time. Yes. This is the time. Come. Let’s build a new Hindi film industry. Else, change Bollywood’s name to Instawood," wrote Agnihotri.

The filmmaker is looking forward to the release of his film The Delhi Files: The Bengal Chapter, which is scheduled to hit theatres on August 15.