Javed Akhtar SLAMS Hindi Filmmakers For Degrading ‘Epic-Like Quality’ Of Indian Cinema

Veteran lyricist and screenwriter Javed Akhtar has questioned the contemporary filmmakers about the songs missing from films. He also stressed on how music is an integral part of Hindi cinema.

Akhtar was present at the launch of film critics Khalid Mohamed’s debut novel, The Aladia Sisters on Monday evening. While addressing the audience he spoke about the evolution of screenplays in Hindi films. He expressed his sadness with the screenwriters rejecting songs.

“An average Hindi film’s screenplay is nearer to a novel than a short story. Now the new cinema that’s developing is gradually going towards a short story and is rejecting the songs. So the epic-like quality is gradually going out of the Indian cinema and I am very sad about it. In our indigenous cinema, the way we have used melodrama, look at masters like Guru Dutt, Bimal Roy, Raj Kapoor, Vijay Anand, and how they have used songs,” said Akhtar.

Further talking about different cultures in cinema in different parts of the world, he added, “Why has it started to embarrass new directors I don’t know? Tomorrow some Japanese will get embarrassed about Kabuki? Or Italians will get embarrassed by Italian opera? They say it’s not real but who says art should be real?”

The event also had filmmaker Karan Johar, Anil Kapoor and Asha Parekh in attendance. Khalid Mohamed’s book The Aladia Sisters is about six sisters from a patriarchal Muslim family, investigated by a journalist.

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