Result Pookutty slams corporates for Bollywood's downfall: They forgot the middle class

Oscar-winning Resul Pookutty, who has also worked on Hindi films such as Shah Rukh Khan’s Ra One, opined that Bollywood has alienated itself from the middle class, contrary to Malayalam cinema.

Resul Pookutty

Resul Pookutty, the Oscar-winning sound designer, has worked across languages from Malayalam to Hindi. Resul Pookutty, who is originally from a small village in Kerala, recently spoke about the Hindi industry, which has been struggling to find a foothold, but for the couple of recent success stories of Chhaava and Saiyaara. So why are Bollywood films facing rejection at the box office, despite being the biggest industry in the country? Resul Pookutty finds fault with the corporatisation of the Hindi film industry, which seems to have forgotten the middle-class and stories rooted in our society.

Resul Pookutty on Hindi films

Resul Pookutty, who has also worked on Hindi films such as English Vinglish and Shah Rukh Khan’s Ra One, recently opined that the Bollywood industry has alienated itself from the middle-class. He cited this as one of the reasons for the behemoth Bollywood facing rejections, during a recent interview with The New Indian Express.

While pointing out that the beauty of Malayalam cinema is that we are still making films based on our people, Resul Pookutty said, “What has Hindi cinema done? There is no middle class in those films. So what happened? Those films got rejected.”

Resul, who secured the Academy Award for Slumdog Millionaire, blamed the corporatisation of Bollywood for the downfall. “The corporates came and destroyed Hindi cinema. But that is not so in Malayalam,” he opined.

Recently, Emraan Hashmi, who starred in the latest Hindi film Haq also expressed similar opinions during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter India, when he said that the Hindi filmmakers are trying to cater to multiplex audiences rather than the general masses. Though he did not specify Malayalam cinema, Emraan mentioned that south films continue to focus on emotions and the core value of our cinema.

Several big-budget and star-led Hindi movies such as War 2, starring Hrithik Roshan and Jr NTR, failed to live up to the expectations of the audiences and suffered losses. Malayalam cinema has mostly stayed rooted even while narrating big stories, as seen in Lokah Chapter Chandra which reimagined a folklore tale as a superhuman story and also raked in profits at the box office, grossing over Rs 300 crore.

Also read: YRF halts Jr NTR’s Agent Vikram spin-off after War 2 flop? Here's what we know

FAQs

Q. What is Bollywood?

A. Bollywood refers to the Hindi film industry. Though there is a misconception that Bollywood is Indian cinema, it just caters to mainstream Hindi films. The rest of the Indian languages have their own industries, including for Bengali, Telugu, Malayalam, and Tamil.

Q. Why did Resul Pookutty win the Oscar?

A. Resul Pookutty won the Oscar for sound mixing for Slumdog Millionaire, helmed by Danny Boyle.

Q. Is Resul Pookutty a Malayali?

A. Resul Pookutty is a Malayali. He is a native of the Kollam district in Kerala.

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