Mani Ratnam suggested that the Hindi cinema industry refrains from referring to itself as “Bollywood.”
We can sense the covert competition between Bollywood and other Hindi dubbed films from the South industry in the post-pandemic era. True movie fans appreciate media from all fields, but some people try to turn it into a negative competition. Recently, the director of Ponniyin Selvan 2 objected to the Hindi cinema industry’s use of the term “Bollywood.”
The renowned director is preparing to unleash Ponniyin Selvan 2, his upcoming masterpiece. The movie is a continuation of Ponniyin Selvan 1, which was launched the previous year and enjoyed tremendous box office success. Expectations from the behemoth are sky-high given that it made over 480 crores in total revenue worldwide. It will debut on April 28 and features Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Chiyaan Vikram, Karthi, and others.
Returning to the subject, Mani Ratnam stated that the Hindi film industry should refrain from using the term “Bollywood” to describe itself as it is making it difficult to present the true identity of Indian cinema to the world during his speech at the 2nd edition of CII Dakshin Media and Entertainment Summit in Chennai.
Mani Ratnam said, “If Hindi cinema can stop calling themselves Bollywood, then people will stop identifying Indian cinema as Bollywood.” Even director Vetrimaaran agreed with it and said, “I’m not a fan of the ‘woods’. Like Bollywood, Kollywood. We need to see it as Indian cinema on the whole.”
flicks from the South’s industries have frequently been referred to as “Bollywood films.” One such occasion included the film RRR, where SS Rajamouli had to clarify to an American journalist that the movie is not from Bollywood but rather Telugu.