Boney Kapoor and Naga Vamsi recently attended a roundtable discussion, during which Naga talked about regional cinema’s influence on Hindi cinema.
The Devara producer claimed that Bollywood was stuck making films for “Bandra and Juhu,” which are posh localities in Mumbai. However, now films like RRR and Baahubali have revitalised the Hindi film industry and changed its perspective.
Naga Vamsi’s statement did not sit well with Boney Kapoor, who highlighted Bollywood’s global impact. He also pointed out that even Pushpa 2:The Rule star Allu Arjun is a huge fan of Amitabh Bachchan.
During Galatta Plus’ Mega Pan-India Producers’ Round Table 2024, Boney Kapoor talked about how Indian films do overseas.
He said, “In Russia, for instance, Raj Kapoor is remembered till today. When I visited Egypt, they would talk only about Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan. In Morocco, again, it’s Amitabh Bachchan. The King of Morocco had honoured Bachchan and later Shah Rukh Khan. Telugu films and Tamil films have unique markets. For instance, Telugu films have a unique market in the US, while Tamil films have a strong presence in Singapore and Malaysia. That’s a significant chunk of the overseas business. And the Gulf, of course, is a cosmopolitan area.”
Naga Vamsi replied, “No, the Gulf has a huge market for Malayalam films.”
He added, “I have to add to this. This might sound harsh, but we South Indians have changed the way you look at cinema — even for Bollywood. Because you guys were stuck in making films for Bandra and Juhu. But now, with films like RRR, Baahubali, Animal, and Jawan. These have kind of changed your version. After Mughal-E-Azam, you mentioned films like Baahubali and RRR, which were Telugu films. You never really spoke of a Hindi film’s name after Mughal-E-Azam.”
Reacting to Naga Vamsi’s Mughal-E-Azam comment, Boney Kapoor said, “When I was talking about historicals. See, in this forum, we can’t discuss every bit of knowledge that we know. You just have to speak in broader terms. So, when I mention Mughal-E-Azam, Baahubali, and all, it’s not that I missed out on those films. I’m aware of them. But it’s not as though Telugu films have taught Indian cinema…”
Vamsi added to this, stating “Not taught, sir. We just rediscovered Hindi cinema because of these mass, huge event films.”
Boney Kapoor added that whether it’s Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, or Bengali movies—the barrier isn’t the language, but rather what’s good and what’s bad, and what people digest.
Naga Vamsi, who called himself a Shah Rukh Khan fan, reiterated that Telugu filmmakers have delivered all the recent hits like Baahubali, RRR, KGF 2, Kalki 2898 AD, and Pushpa 2: The Rule. The films have done huge business in the Hindi language.
Boney Kapoor reminded Naga Vamsi that he forgot about Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Gadar, and Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!
Boney Kapoor’s daughter Janhvi Kapoor made her Telugu debut with Naga Vamsi’s Devara: Part 1. The film also featured Jr NTR in the lead role.
