Rakesh Roshan's ‘South cinema is successful because they’re not breaking any path’ comment irks Reddit: ‘What nonsense’

Rakesh Roshan's comments on South cinema's storytelling spark backlash on Reddit, with users criticizing Bollywood's arrogance.

Last year, South cinema almost outperformed Bollywood at the box office, reigniting the South vs. Bollywood debate. Recently, Rakesh Roshan told Times Now that while South cinema may have progressed technically, it still focuses on old-school storytelling. His comments have sparked backlash among Reddit users.

Rakesh Roshan says Bollywood takes challenges but South cinema is not progressing.

What Rakesh Roshan said

Rakesh Roshan discussed his perspective on South cinema's progress, saying, "South films are very grounded. They’re continuing with the old-school format of song-action-dialogue-emotions. They’re not progressing. Technically, they are, but storytelling-wise, they’re sticking to the same formulas that work. They’re successful because they’re not breaking any path.”

He further added that while Bollywood takes risks, South cinema plays it safe. He said, "We are breaking paths. After I made Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai, I didn’t want to make romantic films again. Then I did Koi... Mil Gaya. After that, I made Rohit (Hrithik Roshan’s character in Koi... Mil Gaya) a superhero. These are the challenges we took. They don’t take risks. They play on safe grounds.”

Reddit reacts to Rakesh Roshan's statement

Rakesh Roshan’s remarks have drawn criticism on Reddit. One user commented, "Bollywood’s own arrogance is its downfall." Another user wrote, "Regional cinema in general is far more inventive than commercial Bollywood. Roshan likely doesn’t follow anything beyond popular cinema. Only then can you develop such a perspective."

Citing examples, another Reddit user added, "What about Eega? Can a Bollywood movie with a fly as the hero break any records? Bollywood is also currently surviving on the same male testosterone-driven action films like Jawan, Gadar 2, Pathaan, and Animal. One Stree 2 doesn’t change that. Dangal and Bajrangi Bhaijaan are almost a decade old now." Other comment read, "This reeks of arrogance." One of the Reddit users also slammed the filmmaker for his remark and wrote, “what nonsense did I just read. Thank god the audience is aware.”

Meanwhile, Rakesh Roshan’s Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai was re-released in theaters to mark its 25th anniversary. The film, which marked the debut of Hrithik Roshan and Ameesha Patel, became a massive box office success. Both Hrithik and Ameesha rose to stardom overnight following the release of the romantic drama.