INDIA: The Ponniyin Selvan director, Mani Ratnam, the master craft of India’s most highly acclaimed filmmakers, expressed his displeasure in projecting the Hindi film industry as Bollywood.
The highly popular director made his way to the second edition of the CII Dakshin Media and Entertainment Summit in Chennai, where he was a part of the panel discussion. The acclaimed director asserted that other Indian language films would receive proper recognition if the Hindi film industry could quit referring to itself as Bollywood.
Mani Ratnam was one of the panellists who referred to South Indian cinema’s global impact following the global success of films like RRR, Pushpa: The Rise, Kantara, and KGF: Chapter 2. Besides the Ponniyin Selvan director, the panel includes filmmakers Vetrimaaran, Basil Joseph, and actor-director Rishab Shetty.
At the event, Mani Ratnam was questioned, “Why Indian cinema is frequently referred to as Bollywood in the West?” He replied, “People will stop identifying Indian movies as Bollywood if Hindi cinema stops calling itself Bollywood.”
Vetrimaaran also joined the same tone of Ratnam and replied, “The ‘woods’ do not appeal to me. Such as Bollywood and Kollywood. We must consider it in the context of Indian film as a whole.”
Over 60 prominent speakers and 700 delegates from across India are expected to attend the two-day event, which will include actors, producers, directors, exhibitors, national heads of OTT platforms, and social media influencers.
Moreover, the event also featured renowned figures in the film industry, such as Prem Rakshit, the choreographer of the Oscar-winning song ‘Naatu Naatu’ from the film RRR, and Kartiki Gonsalves, the recent Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker.
Also Read: Ponniyin Selvan 2 Trailer Launch: Mani Ratnam’s Film Ready for Its First Glimpse
