Bollywood Has Lost Touch With Audience, Says Vipul Shah

MUMBAI (ANI)- The beginning of 2025 has been challenging for Bollywood, with big-budget films underperforming at the box office.

Even superstar Salman Khan’s Eid release Sikandar failed to meet expectations.

Amid growing concerns, filmmaker Vipul Shah has weighed in on the industry’s ongoing struggles, attributing the downturn to a disconnect between filmmakers and the broader Indian audience.

“I feel there are many reasons for this, and we are going through a phase which has lasted for quite some time,” Shah said.

He emphasized that one of the core issues is the industry’s focus on catering to a narrow segment of viewers in urban multiplexes.

“We’ve stopped making movies for ‘Bharat.’

Today, films are made for a small group of people watching in 25, 50, or 100 multiplexes.

The expectation is that only those audiences need to like them,” he explained.

Using the example of a film like Jaat, Shah highlighted how stories that resonate with smaller towns are often dismissed as “uncool,” leading to a shrinking reach.

“This obsession with making so-called ‘cool’ films has left much of our audience disappointed,” he added.

However, amid the gloom, Akshay Kumar’s Kesari 2 has emerged as a rare success.

The courtroom historical drama has opened to strong reviews and earned ₹7.84 crore net on its first day, according to the makers. (Courtesy: https://indiawest.com/)