Sometimes it feels as if what’s happening to Bollywood is nothing short of divine retribution. Like the Noachian Flood from the Bible, the great deluge that washed away everything, it seems the Hindi film industry too is facing a creative flood of mediocrity. The waters are rising, and the industry’s foundations look weaker than ever.
The “Dharra” Mindset
There’s a word in Hindi and Urdu “Dharra”, meaning a fixed, traditional path. Most of Bollywood today seems stuck in exactly that: walking blindly on well-trodden routes without daring to change direction.
Big studios and producers dream of reviving the Hindi film industry, but when it comes time to act, they freeze. Risk is avoided, innovation is feared, and repetition is celebrated. The result? Films that look grand on paper but hollow on screen. Script selection in Bollywood has reached an alarming low. Even major studios, once synonymous with creative excellence, have stumbled repeatedly.
Recent years have shown a worrying pattern, big budgets, flashy visuals, and weak storytelling. Interviews are filled with mutual praise and lofty words about “creativity,” but when it comes to picking a good script, that creativity vanishes.
Borrowed Brilliance
Bollywood’s obsession with “inspiration” has reached new heights. Action spectacles borrow heavily from Hollywood franchises. Period dramas echo international blockbusters. Spy thrillers are cocktails of Western genre films.
Even the hits, if we’re honest, succeed despite their writing, not because of it. It’s as if scripting has become the least important part of filmmaking, a checkbox to be ticked rather than the foundation of a film.
The addiction to sequels is another symptom of this creative drought. The list of franchise extensions grows longer each year. Sometimes one wonders if these films even have a proper bound script. What’s more ironic is that half of Bollywood’s sequels aren’t real sequels at all — no story continuity, no returning characters, just a reused title for marketing advantage. Sequels have become a shortcut to hype, not storytelling.
At some major production houses, the brand often outshines the films themselves. The focus seems more on faces, fame, and Instagram aesthetics than on meaningful cinema. Style has replaced substance across multiple line-ups.
If major studios in 2025 are producing films that prioritize packaging over content, it’s difficult to expect revival. The decline isn’t immediate, but by 2030, its impact will be impossible to ignore.
Bollywood today resembles a shoe factory, mass-producing identical products, each one slightly polished but fundamentally the same. But cinema isn’t manufacturing. Every film cannot be made from the same mould.
Sadly, even smaller producers are following the same herd. They mimic the big players instead of thinking differently. This blind imitation has created a creative vacuum.
Part of the problem is a lack of education and awareness about cinema as an art form. The more disturbing part is that some wear this ignorance as a badge of honour, flaunting their lack of knowledge as a “cool” trait.
Actors, directors, influencers — everyone wants to turn producer. The motivation is rarely storytelling; it’s money, control, and ownership. Before the first draft is even written, producers are already calculating “sequel potential.” The heart of filmmaking, “the story”, is now the least valued component.
It’s painful to admit, but the Hindi film industry is in visible decline. The glamour remains, but the soul is fading. If the system doesn’t reset soon, if we don’t prioritize writing, originality, and artistic courage, the future will only grow darker.
Still, hope remains. Perhaps the next generation of storytellers will see beyond formulas and franchises. Perhaps they will remember that cinema, at its core, is an art — not an assembly line.
Until then, I rest my pen disappointed, yet hopeful.
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