Actor-producer Aamir Khan does not believe the Hindi film industry is lagging behind in quality when compared to the regional film industries. Talking to The Hollywood Reporter India, Aamir said that Bollywood has ‘improved’ compared to the 1970s-80s and thinks it’s just a low phase for the industry. (Also Read: Aamir Khan says he plays a ‘politically incorrect’ role in Sitaare Zameen Par: He insults everybody)

Aamir Khan on how Bollywood is faring
Aamir admitted that there’s always scope for improvement when it comes to filmmaking, but he doesn’t think that the Hindi film industry produces films of lesser quality. He said, “I am not saying we cannot be better filmmakers, certainly I think there is scope for us to be better filmmakers and learn from various industries. Having said that, is the quality of filmmaking any different across the country? Do you think that the quality of Hindi films is dramatically different from, let’s say, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Bengali, Marathi?”
He compared the definition of what mainstream means to the audience now to when he began his career in 1988 and said, “I am not sure I agree (that other film industries are producing more good films than Hindi). If you look at the quality of films we have been making…I’ll talk about the 70s and 80s when I came in ‘88. The bulk of films made then was the low of Indian cinema. Since then, we have improved. Earlier mainstream was a very narrow path to thread on. Different kinds of films are doing well. I think these are good things. There are ups and downs in every field; we are certainly going through a low, but it’s not new. These are cycles.”
Internet reacts
When a clip of the conservation began doing rounds on X (formerly Twitter), some agreed with Aamir while others believed he was wrong. “Smartly using 80s as a reference point to feel better,” wrote one X user, while another commented, “Bollywood needs original content not remakes, they are capable of creating masterpieces, before they used.” One even said, “Aamir loves to stay in his delulu…”
However, some X users agreed with Aamir, with one of them writing, “Even bollywood has really good content…but 95% of those content aren’t supported by the main stream, hindi webserieses are so good like panchayat, gulak, early mirzapur etc.”
An X user pointed out, “There is truth in it also. Some quality movies are not getting audience after OTT. Previously hindi trackers talked about multiplex audience, which helped quality movies. Now they have shifted to OTT. It is a major challenge..”
Aamir last starred in and produced the 2022 film Laal Singh Chaddha. He is now starring in and producing Sitaare Zameen Par and Lahore 1947. He will also feature in a cameo in Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Coolie.
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