Rohit Shetty on the North-South movie debate- “Bollywood kabhi khatam nahi hoga”

People like to try to bring Bollywood down, according to the director, but nothing can stop it.

As the discussion over north-south cinema continues, Rohit Shetty is the latest to express his thoughts. People like attempting to bring Bollywood down, according to the filmmaker, but nothing can stop it. He said, “The thought of ‘Bollywood khatam’ gives some kind of a high to people, but Bollywood kabhi khatam nahi hoga.” He also went on to say that, like the current wave of South films that have done well, India has seen its share of success stories in the past.

He said, “Jab aap history check karenge… 50s aur 60s mein Pyar Kiye Jaa aayi thi, which was a remake. It starred Shashi Kapoor ji. In the 80s, when Amitabh Bachchan ji and Vinod Khanna ji were at the peak, tab ek naya ladka aaya tha, Kamal Haasan With Ek Duje Ke Liye, which was a hit. The superstars of 80s and 90s were Jaya Prada and Sridevi who were from the south too.”

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He added, “Pura jo ek daur Jeetu ji (Jeetendra) ka chal raha tha Himmatwala, Justice Chowdary, Mawaali all these films are from the south (remakes). After Roja, directed by Mani Ratnam, the trend changed. Our famous music director AR Rahman is from south. When VCR came in the 80s, people said ab theatres khatam aur Bollywood khatam, jab OTT aaya people said ab Bollywood khatam toh yeh ‘bollywood khatam’ thought ek high deta hai, but Bollywood kabhi khatam nahi hoga.”

Rohit also discussed his upcoming ventures, saying, “Currently, I am busy working on Cirkus, post which I will work on Singham, jisme Ranveer Singh aayega and the Simmba sequel. Cirkus will also have a glimpse of Golmaal.”