The objective of filmmaking has changed, says Naseeruddin Shah

Naseeruddin Shah is disturbed by the ‘massive’ popularity of films such as ‘The Kashmir Files’, ‘The Kerala Story’ and ‘Gadar 2’ and said that the filmmakers of these movies are doing something ‘very harmful’. He talked with a media house in a new interview when he insisted that filmmakers such as Sudhir Mishra and Hansal Mehta must continue with the kind of work they do, even if people are not watching their movies right now.

Asked about how the objective of filmmaking has changed in Bollywood over the years, Naseeruddin said, “Now the more jingoist you are, the more popular you become because this is what has been ruling this country. It’s not enough to love your country. But beat drums about it and you have to create imaginary enemies. What these people don’t realise is that what they are doing is very harmful. Films like ‘Kerala Story’ and ‘Gadar 2’ - I haven’t seen them, but I know what they are about. It’s disturbing that films like ‘Kashmir Files’ are so massively popular, whereas films made by Sudhir Mishra, Anubhav Sinha and Hansal Mehta, who are trying to portray the truth of their times, don’t get seen. But these filmmakers mustn’t lose heart and continue telling stories.”

“They will be responsible for posterity. 100 years later, people will see ‘Bheed’ and ‘Gadar 2’ and see which one portrays the truth of our times because the film is the only medium that could do that. It’s hard to resort to abstraction and capture life as it is. So, regressive is a pretty mild word for what’s going on. It’s frightening that filmmakers are being coopted into making films that praise all the wrong things and run down other communities for no reason at all. It’s a dangerous trend.”