Mainstream cinema has ruined taste of audience: Naseeruddin Shah

Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah is one of the most forward-thinking artistes in Indian cinema. So, when he talks about something, the world sits down to take notice. The senior actor, who has donned the hat of a director for the second time with his recently released short film ‘Man Woman, Man Woman’, feels that the mainstream cinema of India hasn’t fully stuck to its responsibilities as a medium of art.

Talking to the news portal of a leading media house, he said, “Our mainstream cinema has ruined the taste of the audience forever. Filmmaker Satyajit Ray mentioned this thing in his book, titled ‘Our Films, Their Films’, which he wrote 50 years ago. He wasn’t running down Indian films, but he was merely comparing Indian filmmakers with international filmmakers.”

The actor shared that Ray wished for our audience to be more ‘discerning’ and stressed the importance of an audience that questions a filmmaker.

“Satyajit Ray said that we need audiences who get angry and are curious.”