Hansal Mehta calls anti-Bollywood sentiment 'disturbing to say the least'

Filmmaker Hansal Mehta reacted to the anti-Bollywood sentiment and said that 'it is disturbing to say the least'. In a new interview, he also highlighted that things are written on social media platforms with the 'endorsement of some of our own colleagues'. Calling the Hindi film industry a 'resilient' one, Hansal added that 'it is a transitory phase' and 'we will emerge out of it'.

Several Hindi films, this year, have faced backlash from a section of the population, leading to their failure at the domestic box office. Films like 'Laal Singh Chaddha' and 'Raksha Bandhan' faced the 'boycott Bollywood' trend earlier this year. Raksha Bandhan's week one collection was around Rs 37.50 crore, while LSC earned Rs 49 crore in seven days at the box office.

In an interview with a leading media house, Hansal said, "It is disturbing to say the least. The kind of stuff that is written on social media, some of it even surreptitiously and otherwise, with the endorsement of some of our own colleagues. It is disturbing but I do also feel that a lot of it is also social media, very manufactured. What is happening in this diversion, this madness, our fear is getting the better of us in being able to tell our stories the way we want to, in making the films the way we want to. It is a transitory phase; we will emerge from it. It is a resilient industry."

"What is important is to not lose focus on our main job: which is to tell stories, whatever the counterpoint. Whether your film is out-and-out propaganda or is completely counter to the propaganda that is being fed to us. I feel that in our quest to serve a certain agenda, we have forgotten that we are actually making films for audiences," he added.