Acclaimed filmmaker Dibakar Banerjee says that Bollywood is so disconnected from its roots.

In an appearance on the Honestly Saying Podcast, Dibakar was asked if the South Indian film industry has impacted the way Bollywood has made films in the last four years.

To which, he said, “Yes. It is not a four-year issue, it has been 10-15 years, we have just been slow to read the signs. Over the last decade, decade and a half, they have come up with new interpretation of old superstars, they have invested in stories, invested in subversion in the superstar genre…”

“In addition to that, the independent film industry, let’s say, the Kerala film industry, has kept the vibe because they have kept theatrical alive. They have not let their budgets get bogged down by astronomical star fees. They have also been intelligent about trying to increase the number of theatres,” said the filmmaker who is known for films such as Khosla Ka Ghosla, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye and Shanghai.

“Powerful people in Bollywood like us read English novels, Crossword bestsellers, we don’t know how to read Hindi, Bengali, are unaware of Gujarati stories and stories of our roots. A Marathi filmmaker mounts a film on a low budget, and then we remake that and make money. Our ability to jump into our own stories is reducing, so South is definitely ahead of us,” he added.