Is Bollywood Losing Its Charm for Gen Z Film Fans?

I have seen a lot of Indian movies. Surprisingly, not a lot of Bollywood films. There are the obvious ones like 3 idiots, Om Shanti Om, Tumbbad, Haider and a few others. But, I haven’t been really experienced the Bollywood Bonanza that a lot of older people describe.

A common association of an Indian film is that it is a Bollywood film. Especially, to people outside India. Bollywood has dominated mainstream cinema for decades and has influence beyond just their films. They were very popular and received the most publicity. However, when it comes to the Gen Z’s consumption of media, Bollywood takes a step back.

Streaming Platforms Bringing in More Exposure to Regional Films

Unlike earlier generations, who didn’t have much choice in what media they consumed with only limited options presented to them, Gen Z has grown up in the era of endless channels and the birth of streaming and OTT platforms.

Platforms like Netflix, Hotstar, Prime Video, etc. brought about the options to watch more obscure films of different regions. Cinema of different cultures began to gain more popularity. Malayalam films like Premam, Drishyam, Premalu, Kumbalangi Nights are films that would usually stay local to Malayalees but with the evolution of OTT, they have reached a far wider audience.

The Changing Aesthetics of Gen Z: Rise of the Flawed Protagonist

It appears that Gen Z prefer emotional depth over mindless glamour and random item songs. There is a rise in the flawed protagonists that can relate to mass audiences. They want films that are more down to earth and relatable.

Instagram reels and Youtube channels also play a role in reviewing and recommending unknown films that create more demand for similar films. It has become a flex of sorts to watch a niche film and recommend it to your peers. The use of memes to reference such films also make people want to be up to date so they can keep up with such content.

Bollywood’s Outdated Formula and the Rise of Cross-Cultural Taste

Bollywood spent decades dominating the Indian film industry and has now found itself barely able to stay relevant. While other language films have evolved with the times, creating films that resonate with today's audiences, Bollywood are still stuck with their stale formula that has outgrown itself. Their lack of investing in new talent and sticking to nepo babies for the sake of publicity holds them back even more.

Mainstream media that is not Bollywood also gains more popularity as people find Bollywood perhaps too derivative and lacking freshness. They have even tried to recreate South Indian films with Kabir Singh being a remake of Arjun Reddy but they cannot gain the same reception.

Arjun Reddy, despite being a shallow, mainstream film that caters to all the tropes imaginable was a financial and critical success because of its cultural background. While Bollywood tried to recreate this through Kabir Singh, they did not receive the same success because they tried to fit another culture into theirs and created a mushy, confused remake.

Their remake of the Telugu film Jersey(2019) also found itself in similar waters. It was again a remake that lacked the heart and emotional texture of the original and became a failure among critics and audiences alike.

Gen Z is a lot more open minded that previous generations when it comes to consumption of media with the popularity of Animes (without dubbing), K-dramas, shows like Money Heist, etc..

We can observe that nowadays, the consumption of a movie relies a lot more on how it is represented in Social media and therefore, as of now, it is growing away from Bollywood.