A CINEMATIC REVIVAL

Hindi cinema makes a strong comeback in 2023 after pandemic slump

Over the past quarter, the Hindi film industry has experienced a remarkable resurgence in its fortunes. Interestingly, this revival is not limited solely to a select few blockbuster productions. Instead, both mid-budget and small-budget films are achieving notable success.

Could this year mark a true revival for the beleaguered Hindi film industry?

Let’s delve deeper to gain a comprehensive understanding.

UNPRECEDENTED EVENTS

Over the past four years, the Hindi film industry has witnessed greater volatility than in the previous decade. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the industry faced major challenges. Films produced in Hindi struggled to excel in the crucial aspect of entertainment.

Filmmakers seemed to have forgotten the grammar of filmmaking, principles that regional filmmakers had faithfully upheld. One of the primary reasons for the Hindi film industry’s struggles was that many films were being made by individuals who crafted their work solely by watching existing films instead of being innovative.

Scholars and analysts have emphasized that the prevailing culture in the Hindi film industry has not been conducive to creating entertaining films.

Studio decision-makers and financial backers were primarily fixated on discovering a formula for producing money-making films. Unfortunately, this approach undermined the importance of writers while placing disproportionate importance on movie stars.

Consequently, stars guaranteed a certain initial box office collection for a film, but they couldn’t sustain these collections over time. This was because of the simple fact that the presence of stars couldn’t compensate for the absence of a compelling and entertaining story in the film. As a result of this myopic approach, more than 70% of Hindi films released in 2022 flopped miserably.