At WAVES 2025, veteran Bollywood actor Anupam Kher opened up about the longstanding divide between Hindi cinema and South Indian cinema, and how the COVID-19 pandemic served as an equaliser for audiences across the country.
Speaking on the second day (May 2) of the four-day summit in Mumbai, the actor reflected on how the Hindi film industry once looked at regional cinema with a sense of superiority, an attitude that has changed in recent years.
"I primarily come from the Hindi industry, and while I have great love and respect for it, there used to be a certain superiority complex - as if we were the industry, and the South was just 'regional cinema'," Kher said.
He added, "That perception shifted completely during the COVID-19 pandemic. With no access to theatres and limited entertainment options, audiences turned to streaming platforms and started watching Malayalam, Telugu, and Tamil films. They discovered a cinematic world that, if not more superior, is certainly equally talented."
The actor went on to critique the terminology used to describe various regional film industries in India, especially the trend of adopting the "-wood" suffix from Hollywood.
"This term 'pan-India' is a bit defensive in itself," he remarked.
"Indian cinema is Indian cinema - diverse in language, but united in spirit. I feel very disturbed as we must be the only film industry in the world that imitates Hollywood by calling ourselves Bollywood, Kollywood, Tollywood, Mollywood... You don't hear of 'Chinawood' for Chinese films or 'Frenchwood' for French cinema. This imitation reflects our lingering colonial hangover."
He praised the rise of Southern cinema, highlighting blockbuster successes like RRR and Pushpa, and noted that their growing popularity has served as a much-needed wake-up call for the Hindi film industry.
"The underdog narrative has shifted. Southern cinema has delivered powerful, globally resonant stories that have made all of us sit up and take notice," he said. "Today, cinema is no longer just about regions, it's about good cinema or bad cinema. And that’s the only distinction that should matter."
