Naseeruddin Shah believes the films being made in Tamil, Kannada, Telugu and Malayalam are far more imaginative and original than the ones being produced by makers in the Hindi film industry. The veteran actor stated that though films down South may be “crass in their taste”, their execution is “always flawless”.

In an interview with Indian Express, the 72-year-old explained why he believes films from the southern language industries are doing better than Hindi films these days and have a wider appeal among moviegoers.

“Even the commercial movies made in Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Telugu are imaginative. They are original. They may be crass in their taste, but the execution is always flawless. I have observed this for a very long time. Even the picturization of songs... In those corny films of [actors] Jeetendra and Sridevi, insane as it may be with hundreds of matkas (clay pots) in a line, but at least it was an original idea,” said Shah, adding, “It wasn’t just a line of girls dancing, not quite together, and one central dancer. I really think South Indian [language] filmmakers work harder. It is no mystery why their films are doing better than Hindi cinema.”