Bollywood needs government support to nurture bold storytellers-Vivek Agnihotri

Dear Piyush Goyal ji,

Your recent remarks at the Startup Mahakumbh about Indian startups needing introspection and real value-addition in the face of global competition — especially against China’s strides in EVs, semiconductors, and robotics — were deeply resonant. Your push to move beyond superficial ventures like “fancy ice cream and cookies” and focus on meaningful innovation is timely. In this vein, I wish to highlight a sector with immense cultural and economic potential — Indian cinema — which, despite its legacy, is failing to innovate, compete globally, or harness its soft power potential like South Korea or Japan.  

Globally, cinema and OTT thrive on bold storytelling and technological disruption. Films like Boyhood (shot over 12 years and released in 2014), the single-take illusion of 1917 or the social commentary of Parasite (both 2019) and even a raw, real-time dive into teenage chaos shot in one take such as that in Adolescence, showcase how innovation drives cultural influence.

Today, K-entertainment contributes over $12 billion (approximately Rs. 1,200 crore) to Korea’s economy, while Japan’s anime industry exceeds $20 billion (about Rs. 2,000 crore) in revenue. Hollywood dominates through streaming platform Netflix’s $31 billion (Rs. 3,100 crore) content budget, making it a global content empire.

Meanwhile, Indian cinema remains stagnant — copying formats without mastering their essence. We are the world’s second-largest film producer, yet ironically, most of our content ends up being sold to American platforms. It’s the East India Company syndrome all over again — we create the raw material, but others own and profit from our stories.  

The decay is evident. Studios are shutting down; producers flee to real estate. Visionary filmmakers struggle to survive, while the system promotes non-actors better suited to making Instagram reels or dancing in weddings than meaningful cinema. Rooted, Indic stories are missing. Bollywood, once a soft power beacon, is now “flower power” — style without substance.

The viewer experience is equally dismal with outdated multiplex screens, exorbitant ticket and food prices, and theatres that now resemble food courts. Cinema, once a middle-class joy, is now an unaffordable luxury with diminishing returns. I speak from experience. The Kashmir Files (2022) — a non-starrer, risky narrative — broke Bollywood’s formulaic mould; but this came at a personal cost: fatwas, security threats, relentless backlash and character assassination. If truth invites such hostility, how can we expect innovation?

The industry needs government support — funding, incentives, and platforms — to nurture bold storytellers, not just star-driven fluff. Indic cinema can be the biggest startup of India, with potential to generate jobs, export cultural capital, and build global influence just as South Korea’s entertainment industry has done. Just as startups must prioritize real value, Bollywood must shift from elite appeasement to global relevance. Cinema can be an economic and cultural powerhouse, India’s leading soft power but only with introspection and disruptive innovation.

I urge your intervention to empower filmmakers who dare to dream—help Indian cinema reclaim its place as a global leader, not a copycat.  

Sincerely,

Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri

Indic Filmmaker

Disclaimer: The views shared in the above article belong solely to the author