Pankaj Tripathi admits he’s ‘worried’ about state of content in Hindi cinema, believes most South Indian films have flopped as well

Actor Pankaj Tripathi commented on the state of flux that the film industry is in, with the changing tastes of the audience, the emergence of boycott campaigns, and the rise of streaming services. He also called for writers to be given more respect (and more money) in a chat with Connect FM Canada.
Asked about the success of films like KGF: Chapter 2; the boycott campaigns that surrounded releases such as Brahmastra, Laal Singh Chaddha and Raksha Bandhan; and how streaming had impacted the sensibilities of the audience, Pankaj Tripathi said that he isn’t an expert on the matter, but gave his opinion nevertheless. He said in Hindi, “I don’t have much of an idea about the industry, but I can tell you about myself. My taste in cinema is very different. I watch films like Tithi and Court, I don’t consume much mainstream Hindi content.”

He continued, “During the pandemic, people were exposed to stories from around the world on streaming platforms. Their tastes changed, and they began asking, ‘What are you showing us?’ There weren’t a lot of options before, both in terms of what was being made and what was being released. Small films wouldn’t get any room in theatres. But now, even if they don’t, they can be found online.”
About the rise of the South Indian language industries, Pankaj Tripathi begged to differ. Citing a report that he recently read, he said, “It was saying how only a few South Indian films have been hits, the rest of flopped. But I’m worried about the kind of content that is being made in mainstream Hindi cinema.” He told the story of a young writer who had asked him for advice on how much he should charge for a project, and Pankaj told him that he should be getting at least 1% or 2% of the project’s budget.
He said that back in the day, writers like Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar were household names, but these days, nobody knows the names of writers. “People confuse a well-written role for a well-performed role,” he said.
The actor can currently be seen in the Disney+ Hotstar series Criminal Justice: Adhura Sach. He was last seen in Sherdil: The Pilibhit Saga, and will next be seen in OMG 2.