Pankaj Kapur: Content has come back strongly

VEteran doer Pankaj Kapur reflects on the evolving landscape painting of Hindi movie theatre at a clip when big-budget glasses like Dhurandhar, Dhurandhar: The revenge, and franchise-driven formulas such as Housefull 5 (2025), Stree 2 (2024) dominate the conversation, with films like Golmaal 5 continuing the sequel trend. Despite the industry’s tilt towards scale and familiarity, Kapoor believes storytelling is quietly reclaiming its space. “The biggest change is that stories have improved significantly. Content has come back strongly into cinema,” Kapoor says, reflecting on how the focus has gradually returned to substance after a phase where it seemed to drift.“There was a period, especially in the late ’80s and ’90s, which was very different. But today, even mainstream cinema is looking to say something through its stories.” At the same time, he acknowledges the challenges that content-driven, smaller films continue to face within this ecosystem, films like Jab Khuli Kitaab, Tu Yaa Main, and others, which often struggle to secure a theatrical release despite their intent or get barely any screens. “I’ve a different way of seeing it. As a performer, or a filmmaker, one should always be ready to portray their work irrespective of the medium. Nowadays, each medium, be it theatre, OTT, or television, all have their own space. As an artist, one’s main goal should be that their work should be seen,” says Pankaj Kapur.Drawing from his own journey, he adds, “What I’ve realised over the years of my journey is that in my earlier days, many of my films did not even reach audiences through theatres, but a lot of my work was seen later through television. Today, it could be OTT or any other platform—the important thing is that the work reaches people.”For the 71-year-old, the journey of a story does not end with its release format. “If the work is good, people will talk about it, you tell ten people, those ten tell a hundred—and eventually the work finds its audience. That is more important than whether it releases in theatres or on OTT. I understand that each artist wants their work to reach the big screen, but in times when the audience’s content-consuming pattern has only changed, the main prime focus is to reach the audience in any means possible,” he emphasises.He traces the larger creative shift back to the early 2000s, when filmmakers began to rethink the balance between artistic intent and commercial viability. “That’s when filmmakers started understanding the combination of art and commerce. They were able to make films that had a reach but also catered to the intelligence of the audience. That’s a wonderful space to be in as an actor,” he explains.While the industry often swings with trends, Kapoor remains clear-eyed about the myth of formula-driven success. “Whenever a particular kind of film works, people start saying that this is the time for that genre—be it action or romance. But that’s not really the truth,” he says. “The fact is, if a film is well-made, it will find its audience. We make hundreds of films every year, but only a handful become the kind of successes everyone talks about. It’s a wonderful time for filmmakers because they can experiment and still connect with audiences. There is space for different stories, and that is always a good sign,” he signs off.