Book excerpt: How millennial women are setting the agenda for Bollywood

It is an old cliché but true: India lives in different centuries simultaneously. This is a challenge Bollywood faces when it wants to maintain its pan-India appeal. India’s most famous brand, synonymous with Indian cinema abroad, has to take into account the societal change brought about by the entry of women in much larger numbers in media, corporate world, IT, and other fields. To continue with the old tried and tested formula does not work.

Popular media can least afford not to reflect the changes happening at a dizzy pace. Bollywood with the infusion of indie filmmakers is in tune with the changes in technology that gives films a narrative edge. They are aware that attitudes and expectations of the young are altered by the world outside. They form the largest segment of audience. This is true of other countries as well. Films must reflect this change and even be the agents of change. We see films with unconventional themes succeed because they are not too experimental and use the advantages of a flexible formula to appeal to the millennials.

Westernised but rooted too

A film like Gehraiyaan (2022) divided the audience but it could not be ignored. Deepika Padukone played a challenging role that...

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