With Beyond The Clouds (2018), starring Ishaan Khatter, Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi portrayed an Indian story through his lens and left cinema lovers mesmerized. As audiences await another Hindi film by him, the Oscar-nominated director — who was in Delhi for a film festival — assures that he will “come up with something soon”. 

India, according to Majidi, has “great talent and enormous potential when it comes to filmmaking and a very rich culture to talk about”. However, he feels “Bollywood is not utilizing that potential”. 

“If Bollywood cinema does not improve, it will be a problem. People today are more aware because of social media. Their mindset has changed and they are more evolved beings. If Bollywood continues with what it’s doing, I am afraid that in the next four to five years, it will not have as much audience as it enjoys at present. It needs to change something about the stories; its content,” says The Children of Heaven (1997) director, adding, “Bollywood should change and make films that can cater to the audience of today’s time.” 

Here, Majidi clarifies that he is “not against Bollywood at all”. “There are many filmmakers who are doing great work. However, people across the globe don’t know about them yet,” he says, adding, “I believe this young generation has great potential and if you empower them, they will do wonders.”

Another change he wishes to see is the perception of Bollywood films in society at large. “For them, Bollywood is all about songs and dance. I am well aware that there is much more to Indian movies,” Majidi signs off.