Bollywood Is in a Crisis—It Either Changes, or Dies
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What Makes This Article Worth Your Time
Summary
What This Article Is About
Tania Bhattacharya opens by declaring 2022 one of Bollywood’s toughest years in decades, with the Hindi film industry facing an identity crisis caused by its age-old formula of male-led dramas with weak or non-existent storylines coupled with misplaced faith that stars guarantee success. Big-budget megastar vehicles from India’s most bankable actors—Akshay Kumar’s Bachchan Pandey, Ranbir Kapoor’s Shamshera, Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha (Hindi Forrest Gump remake)—sunk without trace. Kapoor’s Brahmastra debuted so disastrously that shares of leading theatre chains Inox and PVR tanked, forcing ticket price slashing to recoup budgets. Yet this isn’t post-pandemic audience absence—South Indian cinema thrives spectacularly with Telugu films RRR (third-highest-grossing Indian film ever, $160m worldwide) and Pushpa: The Rise, Kannada KGF:2, Tamil Ponniyan Selvan: I (fourth-highest Tamil grosser, 16th Indian), and Kannada Kantara (third-highest Kannada) dominating 2022 box office. Bhattacharya dismisses political boycott explanations—even government-aligned Kumar’s films flopped—identifying the real culprit as simple: stories, or lack thereof.
India remains movie-hungry with film-dominated popular culture where nothing stops fans from watching films “ticking all the right boxes,” but pre-OTT era Bollywood financing produced clichéd star-dependent content when theatre-going was automatic and Indian television never matched Western viewership. Now streaming platforms offer unending variety including international productions like House of the Dragon, raising viewer standards and eliminating tolerance for unimaginative zero-value theatrical releases. OTT services democratized filmmaking by enabling work with lesser-known talented actors on narrative ranges traditional Bollywood prohibits, dealing blows to poor storytelling through high competition targeting global audiences ensuring quality control. Fairer moderated pay helps fledgling creators including women and underrepresented communities—Bhattacharya herself, an industry outsider, gained unprecedented access to veterans impossible five years ago. Bollywood’s old formula no longer works; survival requires well-told relatable stories. South Indian industries excel by staying rooted in masses, addressing common dilemmas through larger-than-life narratives built around traditionally ignored real historical events (RRR, Ponniyan Selvan) or regional beliefs unknown nationally (Kantara‘s Karnataka animism). Hindi cinema’s 2022 successes—Jugjugg Jeeyo (marital conflict from female success), Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 (comedy horror), Gangubai Kathiawadi (mafia queen crime drama hitting Thailand)—prove quality storytelling works. Bhattacharya concludes Bollywood must change to survive by listening to audiences and offering variety covering storytelling’s full spectrum, respecting India’s diverse population and millennia of stories deserving interesting, relatable, thrilling treatment—the only path to relevance and survival.
Key Points
Main Takeaways
Megastar Formula Catastrophically Fails
2022 saw unprecedented flops from Bollywood’s most bankable stars—Akshay Kumar, Aamir Khan, Ranbir Kapoor—with big-budget films sinking without trace, Brahmastra’s debut so disastrous that theatre company shares tanked, revealing star power no longer guarantees success.
South Indian Cinema Dominates
While Bollywood crashes, South Indian industries thrive—RRR becomes third-highest Indian grosser earning $160m, joined by blockbusters Pushpa, KGF:2, Ponniyan Selvan, and Kantara, proving post-pandemic audiences hunger for quality content regardless of language.
Weak Storytelling as Root Cause
Bhattacharya identifies the crisis culprit as simple: “Stories—or the lack thereof.” Bollywood’s age-old formula of male-led dramas with weak or non-existent storylines fails educated audiences exposed to quality international and regional content via streaming platforms.
OTT Platforms Democratize Industry
Streaming services revolutionized filmmaking by enabling lesser-known talented actors, wider narrative ranges, fairer pay for fledgling creators including women and underrepresented communities, global audience competition ensuring quality control—benefits impossible in previously unregulated traditional Bollywood.
South India’s Rooted Storytelling Success
Southern industries excel by staying rooted in masses, addressing common dilemmas through larger-than-life narratives built around traditionally ignored historical events or showcasing regional cultural elements unknown nationally—providing both spectacle and authenticity Bollywood lacks.
Survival Requires Fundamental Change
Bollywood must abandon its old formula and embrace variety covering storytelling’s full spectrum, respecting India’s diverse population and millennia of untold stories—offering interesting, relatable, thrilling narratives is the only path to relevance and survival.
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Article Analysis
Breaking Down the Elements
Main Idea
Existential Crisis Demanding Narrative Revolution
Bhattacharya’s thesis positions 2022’s box office catastrophe as existential reckoning exposing Bollywood’s fundamental bankruptcy—decades-old dependence on star power and formulaic narratives collapsed when audiences gained superior alternatives. Stark binary framing (“changes, or dies”) establishes urgency while contrasting Hindi versus South Indian cinema provides empirical proof audiences enthusiastically consume theatrical releases when content merits attention. Systematically eliminating alternative explanations (pandemic, boycotts) isolates storytelling quality as sole variable. OTT revolution functions as revelatory catalyst rather than competitor—streaming didn’t kill theatrical Bollywood but exposed creative weakness by educating viewers about narrative possibilities traditional Hindi cinema systematically suppressed.
Purpose
Industry Insider Advocating Democratization
Writing for Al Jazeera’s international audience, Bhattacharya explains Bollywood’s crisis to outsiders while advocating reform to industry insiders, leveraging unique position as self-described “industry outsider with no connections” who gained unprecedented access through OTT democratization. Purpose extends beyond critique to championing structural transformation enabling diverse voices—women, underrepresented communities, fledgling creators—previously excluded from nepotistic star-driven production. Personal testimony transforms abstract democratization arguments into lived experience. Doesn’t merely mourn decline but celebrates competition forcing quality improvements, positioning South Indian success and OTT variety as models Hindi cinema must emulate. Prescriptive conclusion reads as manifesto for inclusive filmmaking.
Structure
Problem → Evidence → Alternative Explanations → Root Cause → Solutions
Opens with dramatic problem statement establishing stakes before cataloguing 2022 megastar flops creating vivid crisis imagery. Pivots to contrasting evidence—South Indian spectacular success with detailed box office figures demonstrating post-pandemic theatrical viability—creating puzzle requiring explanation. Employs eliminative reasoning, systematically dismissing alternative hypotheses before revealing simple answer: “Stories—or the lack thereof.” Creates rhetorical satisfaction through complexity reduction. Middle section explains OTT’s transformative role contrasting pre-streaming captive audiences with current educated viewers. Shifts prescriptive, analyzing South Indian success factors then identifying Hindi 2022 successes demonstrating quality works. Conclusion synthesizes threads into survival blueprint: embrace variety, respect diversity, offer compelling narratives—positioned as both moral imperative and pragmatic necessity.
Tone
Urgent, Diagnostic, Ultimately Hopeful
Bhattacharya maintains urgent tone appropriate to existential crisis while avoiding despair, balancing harsh diagnosis with constructive prescription. Title’s binary—”changes, or dies”—establishes stakes without hyperbole, supported by concrete evidence. Employs clinical diagnostic language positioning herself as expert analyst rather than alarmist, using rhetorical questions guiding reader thinking. Shifts between critical (calling formula “clichéd,” films “unimaginable…with zero value”) and celebratory (South Indian success, OTT democratization). Personal touches humanize abstract arguments while establishing insider credibility. Avoids nostalgic mourning, treating crisis as necessary correction forcing improvements. Concluding paragraphs shift emphatically hopeful acknowledging possibility while maintaining pressure for immediate transformation, balancing optimism with realism about required depth.
Key Terms
Vocabulary from the Article
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Tough Words
Challenging Vocabulary
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Showing a lack of originality; using overused expressions, ideas, or plot elements that have become predictable and boring through repetition.
“The bulk of Bollywood’s financing went into producing movies that were clichéd and dependent on big and supposedly reliable stars.”
Failed completely or collapsed dramatically, especially referring to financial performance; declined sharply in value, often used for stock prices or box office performance.
“Brahmastra debuted so badly that the shares of India’s leading theatre companies, Inox and PVR, tanked.”
A person who advocates for or actively supports a particular cause, policy, or person; someone who argues in favor of something or promotes it publicly.
“Films with Akshay Kumar, who has been a vocal proponent of this administration and has faced no boycott calls, have also flopped.”
Referring to content delivered directly via the internet, bypassing traditional distribution; streaming media services that provide content without cable or broadcast TV subscription (abbreviated OTT).
“Before over-the-top (OTT) services, the bulk of Bollywood’s financing went into producing movies that were clichéd.”
Impossible to think of or conceive; so extraordinary or extreme that it cannot be contemplated; beyond the scope of what one could envision or expect.
“As an industry outsider with no connections, I have had opportunities to meet, discuss and work with Bollywood veterans, which would have been unimaginable even five years ago.”
Able to be understood or identified with by others because of shared experiences or emotions; presenting situations or characters that audiences can connect to personally.
“A well-told relatable story is key. Writers and directors from South India point out this is where their industries shine—the ability to stay rooted to the masses.”
Reading Comprehension
Test Your Understanding
5 questions covering different RC question types
1According to Bhattacharya, political boycott calls from supporters of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government explain why Bollywood films flopped in 2022.
2According to Bhattacharya, how have OTT platforms fundamentally changed the film industry landscape compared to traditional Bollywood?
3Which sentence best captures why South Indian cinema succeeded while Bollywood failed in 2022?
4Evaluate these statements about Bhattacharya’s personal experience and its relationship to her argument:
Bhattacharya describes herself as an industry outsider with no connections who gained opportunities to work with Bollywood veterans that would have been unimaginable five years ago.
She credits OTT platforms with creating fairer pay and moderated compensation that helped fledgling creators including women and people from less-represented communities who previously struggled.
Bhattacharya argues that OTT platforms have completely replaced theatrical releases, making cinema halls obsolete for Indian film consumption.
Select True or False for all three statements, then click “Check Answers”
5Based on Bhattacharya’s analysis, what can be inferred about the relationship between star power and box office success in contemporary Indian cinema?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
According to Bhattacharya, these heavily advertised big-budget films featuring India’s most bankable stars—Aamir Khan’s Forrest Gump remake and Ranbir Kapoor’s mythology-Marvel hybrid—failed because Bollywood’s age-old formula of relying on star power coupled with weak or non-existent storylines no longer works. Brahmastra debuted so disastrously that theatre company shares tanked and producers had to slash ticket prices. The flops occurred despite these being major productions with proven megastars, demonstrating that star power alone cannot guarantee success when divorced from quality storytelling. OTT platforms educated audiences to expect compelling narratives, making them intolerant of unimaginative theatrical releases regardless of star power or budget scale.
Bhattacharya identifies South Indian industries’ distinctive strength as “the ability to stay rooted to the masses by consistently addressing the common man’s dilemma.” Rather than relying on star power and formulaic plots, South Indian films like RRR and Ponniyan Selvan build larger-than-life narratives around real historical events that Indian cinema traditionally ignored, while Kantara highlights regional animist beliefs unknown to much of India. This combination of spectacle with cultural authenticity addressing ordinary people’s concerns and showcasing regional identities creates both entertainment value and meaningful connection—something Bollywood’s male-led star vehicles with weak storylines failed to achieve. South Indian cinema proves audiences hunger for theatrical experiences when content justifies leaving home.
Bhattacharya argues OTT platforms fundamentally transformed industry access and economics, not merely viewing habits. They enabled filmmakers to work with lesser-known talented actors on narrative ranges traditional Bollywood prohibits, breaking the star-dependent monopoly. Fairer moderated pay helped fledgling writers, directors, cinematographers, producers, and actors—especially women and underrepresented communities—sustain creative careers in ways impossible in previously unregulated traditional systems. Global audience competition ensured quality control and boundary-pushing. As industry outsider without connections, Bhattacharya herself gained opportunities to work with Bollywood veterans that would have been unimaginable five years ago—personal testimony demonstrating how OTT dismantled nepotistic barriers favoring established players over creative merit.
Readlite provides curated articles with comprehensive analysis including summaries, key points, vocabulary building, and practice questions across 9 different RC question types. Our Ultimate Reading Course offers 365 articles with 2,400+ questions to systematically improve your reading comprehension skills.
This is an Intermediate-level article requiring familiarity with contemporary Indian cinema landscape and comfort following argumentative structure employing eliminative reasoning. Readers should understand how Bhattacharya systematically rules out alternative explanations (pandemic, political boycotts) before identifying storytelling quality as the crisis’s root cause. The essay assumes basic knowledge of Bollywood versus South Indian cinema distinction and OTT platform impacts on media consumption. Full comprehension requires recognizing how personal testimony, box office data, and industry analysis combine to support the thesis that Bollywood must fundamentally transform from star-dependent formulaic production to narrative-driven diverse storytelling respecting India’s cultural wealth—or face irrelevance and death.
Bhattacharya identifies three successful 2022 Hindi films demonstrating what works: Jugjugg Jeeyo, addressing marital conflict born from women being more successful than husbands; Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, an entertaining comedy horror; and Gangubai Kathiawadi, a crime drama based on a mafia queen’s life that surprisingly became a hit in Thailand. These successes share common traits—they tackle relatable contemporary issues (gender dynamics in marriages), deliver genre entertainment competently (horror-comedy), or present compelling biographical narratives about unconventional figures. Unlike the star-dependent formulaic flops, these films succeeded through narrative substance addressing audiences’ desire for stories that are “interesting, relatable and thrilling”—proving Bollywood can compete when prioritizing storytelling over star power.
The Ultimate Reading Course covers 9 RC question types: Multiple Choice, True/False, Multi-Statement T/F, Text Highlight, Fill in the Blanks, Matching, Sequencing, Error Spotting, and Short Answer. This comprehensive coverage prepares you for any reading comprehension format you might encounter.
