How technology is murdering Bollywood

As per evidence from every possible box office, Bollywood is reeling under severe losses with their South Indian counterparts racing ahead. The many Gabbar Singhs accountable for this carnage can defensibly be clubbed under 'technology', from multiple socio-cultural telescopes.

But firstly, it is necessary to reiterate the impact of Southern creativity in terms of influence, unfathomable even a decade back. The creations are gaining mainstream custom in non-traditional markets, North of the Vindhyas, both on the large screen as well as the digital device.

While stars like Allu Arjun, Vijay and Samantha Prabhu are now becoming national, not regional, ambassadors of mega brands including Coca-Cola, KFC, Kurkure, Sprite and Kingfisher amongst worthy others. As a logical sequel, they are being invited to lead Hindi films, not just as fresh faces (formula of yore) but as revenue drivers (imperative of now).

All of this seems rather strange for those brought up in an India with transparent cultural divides, the South a fascinating yet distant smorgasbord of imagination while Bollywood remained the comprehensible, occasionally inspirational, staple. Which is exactly where I must introduce the first role of technology, in this instance the IT boom which exposed Northerly professionals to Southern living, large cohorts moving to Hyderabad, Chennai and naturally Bangalore for remunerative careers, from the late 1980's.

This led to a genuine template of cultural integration, from music to food to movies, and an appreciation of the spellbinding creativity and originality of local content, way too attractive for language to become a needy barrier. A certain virality of this sentiment logically emerged, as friends and family of those exposed to such genres were lovingly influenced, and over three decades a fan following was ably established. What we see today as cinematic affections were certainly founded by this lucrative micro-immigration caused by 'technology', to areas which earlier were friendly yet foreign posting points.

Now comes the second and more comprehensible role of technology for the Bollywood debacles, this time from a consumer application timezone. In India today there are 700 million users of the internet ( more than half being rural) and mass entertainment is undeniably language-agnostic, whether expressive TikTok clones or easily translatable OTT. Enhanced exposure, we know by now, is the 'Seeta aur Geeta' of the piece, with the power to convert or divert as per pure play merit or even, short lived impression.

As a result, rich South Indian content is now considered to be way more original and entertaining than Hindi films, without even considering the other creative parameters. Bollywood is responding obstinately quite like Virat Kohli's flashy blade, getting dismissed for deeply fundamental fallacies, the list of which is both exhausting and exhaustive.

An ill-advised persistence with nepotism niceties, the children of children of fathers and mothers (you do get the drift), preferred to the more soulful task of talent scouting. Then, the abdication of our vast literary pool as the source of screenplay, relying instead on remakes (mostly from the South ironically) or amateur word sketches purporting to be filmable fare. Bollywood has indeed dug its deserving grave, for being truant to nurturing deserving quality.

In a valuable way, underrated currently, this seismic shift is further proof of our evolution as a diverse and integrated nationality, and being a sincere meritocracy in cultural influence. The Bombay film industry is truthfully an extension of the insular Raj (I don't mean Kapoor) mindset, evolving actually from the pioneering Calcutta studios which lost potency post partition. Where the agenda to make the Northern narrative dominant, in language and content, exceeded meritorious conjuring considerations.

Thus, in a screenshot, 'technology' is surely the twin-bladed exterminator of Bollywood's long-expired hegemony over much of India's entertainment choices. Both as a dissolving agent for differences, when IT professionals went Southwards for growth,  as well as a stimulant for variety, driven by voracious heterogeneous creators and larger-than-life execution. The above is surely an unusual twain but valid most certainly, both as legitimate logic and influential inspiration.

So, how must beloved Bollywood suitably respond? For starters, every studio must rediscover novelists to conjure plots and urgently staff their films with persuasive talent and not boisterous birth certificates. Technology can swiftly be on their side if the content is mellifluous, and this change can happen in less than a year.