Aamir Khan says South films are ‘very mass and deep-rooted’ compared to Bollywood films; Javed Akhtar reacts to high ticket price debate

During a recent conversation, Aamir Khan and Javed Akhtar shared their views on challenges afflicting the Hindi film industry and the lessons it can take from Southern cinema.

By Krishma Sharma

Updated on Mar 09, 2025 | 06:16 PM IST | 15.1K

Pic Courtesy: Viral Bhayani

Ahead of Aamir Khan’s 60th birthday on March 14, a special film festival by PVR INOX was launched today named, Aamir Khan: Cinema Ka Jadugar which was also attended by legendary lyricist Javed Akhtar. At the event, both veterans shared their two cents on challenges afflicting the Hindi film industry and the lessons it can take from Southern cinema.

During the media interaction, Aamir Khan highlighted the difference between the approach of filmmaking in both Bollywood and the South Indian industry.

He stated, “We’re not focusing on the broader strokes like anger, love, and revenge. We should make films on conviction (like the South does). South films are what we used to call single-screen films — very mass, very rooted. Maybe Bollywood is focusing more on multiplex films.”

He further addressed the situation of the Hindi film industry and noted that consumers are urged to watch the film on the silver screens. However, if they don’t come to the cinema halls, they’re promised that it will be brought to them within eight weeks on the OTT platform, and that too free of cost as they’ve already paid for its subscription. He stated that he doesn’t know how to sell a product twice.

"Earlier, I used to watch movies because I had no option. Now, it's dependent on a fancy for films. So we've killed our own business model," stated Khan. Meanwhile, Javed Akhtar, who was sitting next to him, insisted on the need for a longer gap of at least three-four months between theatrical and streaming releases.

Despite these concerns, both the veterans remained optimistic about the industry's revival. Khan stated that it's a cycle where one learns from their mistakes. Agreeing to his point, Akhar chimed in, "Hum jaldi samajh jaye toh achha hai. Nahi toh humari cycle hi bik jaegi (The sooner we understand this, the better. Otherwise, we'll have to sell even our bicycles)."

In addition to this, the legendary lyricist was asked about the high-ticketing prices of multiplexes in comparison to single-screen theaters that still exist in the South. To this, Akhtar highlighted the comfortable facilities provided in the multiplexes, for which one is required to pay. He mentioned that since one can afford it, that's why they pay for it.