Bollywood filmmakers and actors talk about cinema as an artistic expression. They admire the craft of directors from world cinema, but when it comes to the films they create and work in, that passion disappears, leaving us with Bollywood masala films that often lack the same depth of thought they claim to admire. They keep repeating the same formula, film after film.
An example of this repetition can be seen in David Dhawan’s films, where the hero lies about his identity to win the heart of a heroine from a rich family. One lie creates another, and the whole story revolves around these misunderstandings before ending happily. This storyline fits films such as Coolie No. 1, Jodi No. 1, Judwaa, Saajan Chale Sasural and Biwi No. 1.
But his favourite film is Bicycle Thieves — a fact revealed by Shoojit Sircar, who admitted he was confused too when he learned Dhawan had studied at FTII. The kind of cinema Dhawan made was far from what FTII is generally associated with.
This is where I genuinely get confused: for a man who calls Bicycle Thieves his favourite film, you’d be hard-pressed to find a single frame in his own work that carries a trace of it. Audiences have accepted films that break from the usual themes before. Directors like Rajkumar Santoshi made revenge and courtroom dramas such as Ghayal and Damini, and then went on to make the cult comedy Andaz Apna Apna.
Dhawan, though, had the biggest star of his own films in Govinda — he could have built one film around him inside the cinema he claimed to love, giving the story his own touch and shaping the characters his own way.
The fear that may have stopped Dhawan from making what he loved almost certainly came down to commercial risk — the fear that it wouldn’t sell. Still, he could have afforded one film that told the audience his real taste — the way Govind Nihalani and Anurag Kashyap did, filmmakers whose own work carries the cinema they love.
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What sells?
Arjun Kapoor, for instance, has been continuously trolled online for his acting and lack of expression. Yet, in interviews, his knowledge of cinema often seems impressive. On Chalchitra Talks, Kapoor discussed David Fincher, praising Se7en, Fight Club and Zodiac, as well as Guy Ritchie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. He also mentioned Tony Scott, Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma and Steven Spielberg.
I keep wondering what happened to that passion in his own filmography — Half Girlfriend, Ki & Ka, Mere Husband Ki Biwi. The cinematic sensibility just vanishes.
I do not mean that he has to make an art-house film or stay away from commercial masala films. Bollywood was always largely about that. But I believe Arjun, or any other actor, can have at least one film in their career that reflects the cinema they admire.
The same goes for Emraan Hashmi, the “serious kisser” of Bollywood, who said on Koffee with Karan that he doesn’t watch Bollywood films — which is a strange thing to say for a man whose career is built on the very cinema he is disowning. Even his one real departure from that — Awarapan — got its own commercial sequel in 2026.
Then come actors like Vivek Oberoi, who compares his character — Kaal in Krrish 3 — with Heath Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight. There is nothing wrong with discussing influences but some reasonable restrictions that come with freedom of speech should be applied here: if you are going to put your work next to the greats, it should carry at least a trace of what made them great.
I do not believe someone has to make Bicycle Thieves to prove they love Vittorio De Sica, or Se7en to show they admire David Fincher. But somewhere, in the story, character, scene or even sound design, I should be able to feel that passion finding its way into their work.
Take Karan Johar — he has always made films centred on melodrama, clichéd love stories and colleges that don’t really exist. But when he isn’t directing, he has produced films that reflect the cinema he actually appreciates: he became the presenter and distributor of The Lunchbox, Geeli Pucchi from Ajeeb Daastaans, Homebound, or a co-producer of action-thriller film Kill. More recently, Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane did something similar, starting a YouTube channel, Oh Flip Shorts, that is giving shelved short films a platform after years of sitting unseen.
Those who want to be recognised as auteurs at least owe the audience this much: talk about the masters, discuss the influences — but let something of that admiration actually show up on screen.