Veteran Malayalam star explains what South can teach Bollywood

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The film industry in the country has undergone a sea change and the situation today is that the audience are no longer students and for the larger interests of the industry, the 'masters' should now turn students.

Another change that has taken the industry in a big way is the role of writers and the best example of that can be seen on how the South Indian film industry especially the Malayalam and Tamil industries has fared in 2022 as compared to the iconic Bollywood.

Another reason why the South Indian film industry has done better than Bollywood is on account of the making, content and there has been a huge variety in subjects.

'Jaya Jaya Jaya Hey' is one example how all the above ingredients of content, making and the subject gelled well and it has become one of the biggest hits in Malayalam.

Take a look at what happened in Bollywood in 2022: it has had more flops which included the ones superstars acted in, the sole exception being 'Drishyam 2'.

In one sentence if I am asked what happened to Bollywood, I would say that Bollywood is a bit confused on what to make.

I am of the personal opinion that Bollywood should not copy blindly and entertainment has to be there centering more on content, and that's where I will point out 2023 for Malayalam holds a lot of promise and for Tamil also, I will say the same.

It is here I will state very strongly that the audience are no longer students and once the 'masters' turn students, it could be easy sailing for them and the industry as a whole.

On a personal note, 2022 will end for me as the year I lost my loving wife to a rare disease as she was my biggest supporter and critic and am sad that she is not there to see my hugely successful films such as 'Rorschah', 'Mukundan Unni Associates' and 'Kaapa', all of which are running well.

Maybe she is watching everything from above.