Dinesh Vijan gives fitting response to Naga Vamsi on South vs Bollywood: ‘Maybe we don’t speak a lot about ourselves'

Under his banner Maddock Films,Dinesh Vijan recently produced Bollywood's biggest domestic hit in history with Amar Kaushik's horror comedy Stree 2.

Stree 2 producer Dinesh Vijan couldn't help but give a befitting response to Telugu producer Naga Vamsi, who recently courted controversy by claiming that South films showed Bollywood how to make big tentpole films successful at the box office. Dinesh addressed his remark at the trailer launch of his upcoming production, Sky Force. (Also Read – Sky Force trailer: Akshay Kumar and debutant Veer Pahariya team up for ‘India’s first airstrike’, Sara Ali Khan seen too)

Dinesh Vijan gives a befitting response to Naga Vamsi on his South vs Bollywood remark.

What Dinesh said

When asked to comment on Naga Vamsi's contentious remark, Dinesh said, “Since the pandemic, there are five Hindi films which have crossed ₹500 crore. Maybe we don't speak a lot about ourselves, but the fact is we have had five huge films. And just Maddock films aren't enough to run the industry. I think there might be 1-2 people here, 1-2 people there, but whenever I've gone to the South, they've been very encouraging. So I think if we start looking at it like it's the Indian film industry, maybe 500 + 800 equals ₹1,300 crore. So why don't we aim for that?”

Dinesh Vijan was referring to Sukumar's Telugu action thriller Pushpa 2: The Rule, which has become the first Hindi film (dubbed version) to cross ₹800 crore at the Indian box office. The five Hindi films which have crossed ₹500 crore since the pandemic include Siddharth Anand's spy thriller Pathaan, Anil Sharma's action drama Gadar 2, Atlee's action thriller Jawan, and Sandeep Reddy Vanga's family crime drama Animal, all of which released in 2023, along with Amar Kaushik's horror comedy Stree 2, which released last year. Produced by Dinesh's banner Maddock Films, Stree 2 became the first Hindi film to earn over ₹600 crore in India.

Naga Vamsi's remark

Recently, Telugu film producer Naga Vamsi in a roundtable conversation said that the Hindi film industry focuses on making films for Mumbai's posh areas like Bandra and Juhu, directing his comments at veteran producer Boney Kapoor, who was also part of the interview. During the roundtable, Vamsi also said that "Mumbai didn't sleep" after Pushpa 2 earned over ₹80 crore at the box office in a single day.

– With PTI inputs.