New Delhi: Bollywood has struggled to achieve the kind of global reach Hollywood enjoys. According to JioStar Vice-Chairman Uday Shankar, a key reason is the lack of a broader government-backed vision to establish Indian content as a global cultural force.
Speaking to journalist Haslinda Amin on Bloomberg Podcasts, Shankar said that Hollywood’s global success was not accidental, but the result of a concerted effort to use American media to build the country’s image worldwide.
“First and foremost, Hollywood was not created accidentally. There was a broader social, governmental consensus to create, to use the power of American content, American media to build a story globally and reinforce brand US,” he said.
Shankar argued that the difference also lies in the scale of domestic markets and the industry’s ability to invest in content for international audiences. While a large domestic market can sustain a country’s entertainment industry, smaller markets and large-scale investments often require filmmakers and studios to look beyond their national boundaries.
“In the case of India, what has happened, the investments have been low because the size of the domestic market has been much smaller. And also the paying capacity of the population is much less,” he said.
He also pointed to the role of successive Indian governments, arguing that media had not historically been treated as an industry with the potential to exercise soft power globally.
“You have to understand that successive Indian governments have not looked at media as an industry, let alone a source of soft power,” Shankar said.
According to him, this approach began to change around two years ago, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi recognised the power of media and entertainment.
Box office success
Despite challenges in achieving global reach, the Indian film industry has continued to record growth at the domestic box office. In 2026, the Indian box office delivered its strongest first-half performance since the Covid-19 pandemic, with collections nearing Rs 6,398 crore.
This is around 10 per cent higher than the same period last year, making it the highest-grossing first half of the post-pandemic era. The collection in 2026 is nearly Rs 650 crore ahead of that in 2025 at the halfway mark.
According to the report, the increase is not driven only by higher ticket prices but also by audiences returning to theatres. Footfall increased by around 5 per cent year on year to 37.8 crore in the first half of 2026, with Hindi and Marathi films leading the growth.
If the momentum continues through the second half of the year, the Indian box office could potentially cross Rs 15,000 crore. In 2025, the industry recorded around Rs 13,395 crore.
The second half has a packed slate of major releases, including Ramayana Part 1, King, and Jailer 2.
(Edited by Prasanna Bachchhav)
Also read: Richer, crazier, and longer: HBO announces new Crazy Rich Asians series