How do you see the role and perception of Bollywood films to an international audience?
At the moment Bollywood is more of a curiosity to foreigners. It has a niche market and is seen as a genre by itself. The only way I believe it can break out of this is by adopting a more universal language. We are at a crossroads at the moment; there has never been a better time than now to strive for change. With the economy opening up there’s money to make films. We got our first 24-hour TV channel somewhere around 1990 and since then there has been a boom in the industry. The younger generation of today, like it or not, is highly influenced by TV, spoilt for choice, and much more aware than all the previous generations. To know them is to know your audience, and I believe that the powers that be in the Bollywood industry got caught off-guard and that is why more films flopped at the box office than succeeded. That led them to be more open to newer, original ideas, fresh talent, which can, if encouraged, further lead to a renaissance in the Bollywood industry.
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