Rakesh Roshan Criticizes South Cinema’s Storytelling, Faces Backlash Amid Hindi Box Office Decline

Rakesh Roshan recently told Times Now that while South Indian cinema has made great technical progress, it still sticks to traditional storytelling styles. His comments have sparked criticism from Reddit users.

“South films are very grounded. They follow the old-school format of songs, action, dialogue, and emotions. They aren’t evolving in storytelling, even though they are advancing technically. They stick to formulas that work, and that’s why they’re successful—they don’t take risks. We, on the other hand, break new ground. After Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai, I didn’t want to make more romantic films. I made Koi… Mil Gaya, then turned Rohit into a superhero in Krrish. These were challenges we took. South films play it safe,” Roshan said.

These remarks upset many Reddit users. One wrote, “What about Eega? Can Bollywood make a hit with a fly as the hero? Bollywood is also riding on male-driven action films like Jawan, Gadar 2, Pathaan, and Animal. One Stree 2 doesn’t change that. Dangal and Bajrangi Bhaijaan are nearly a decade old.” Another said, “What nonsense did I just read? Thank God audiences are smarter now.”

Hindi cinema had a tough year, making up only 40% of the total box office, down from 44% in 2023. About 31% of its revenue came from dubbed South Indian films.

While Pushpa 2: The Rule (Hindi) and Stree 2 became the highest-grossing Hindi films ever, Hindi cinema’s total revenue in 2024 dropped 13% compared to 2019. These two films alone contributed ₹1,587 crore to the overall collections.

Reports show that Hindi cinema earned ₹4,679 crore in 2024, down from ₹5,380 crore in 2023, reducing its box office share from 44% to 40%.