Ideas of India 2025: Amol Palekar Says Hindi Cinema Should Look Beyond Box Office, Praises The Mehta Boys
Ideas of India 2025: Veteran actor and filmmaker Amol Palekar discussed how cinematic excellence should not be solely determined by box office earnings at ABP Network's Ideas of India Summit 2025.
Ideas of India 2025: Veteran actor and filmmaker Amol Palekar discussed how cinematic excellence should not be solely determined by box office earnings at ABP Network's Ideas of India Summit 2025. The session, titled 'Art, Activism, and Acting', featured an insightful conversation with senior journalist Dibang.
Speaking on the first day of ABP Network’s Ideas of India 2025 summit, Palekar highlighted the importance of genuine storytelling in filmmaking. He cited Boman Irani’s recently released film, ‘The Mehta Boys’, as an example of the kind of cinema that is gradually fading in Bollywood.
Good films shouldn't be associated with box office numbers
When asked about the current dominance of South Indian films over Bollywood, Amol said: “I would like to ask a counter-question—why do you associate a good film solely with its commercial success?”
“Nowadays, we are constantly told how much a film has earned—whether it made ₹400 crore or joined some elite box office club. But is that the only measure of a film’s worth? Why does our understanding of cinema end there?”
The veteran actor also spoke about the disproportionate hype around commercial juggernauts such as 'Baahubali' and 'RRR', while smaller films with substantial narratives struggle to receive due recognition.
Palekar said, “In Malayalam cinema, the renowned writer M.T. Vasudevan Nair, who recently passed away, had a web series made in his honour on an OTT platform. This series was based on his literary works, and it featured top stars like Mammootty and Mohanlal. Not just that, it was even presented by Kamal Haasan. This kind of project is made in the South, but we mostly talk about RRR or Baahubali—why don’t we acknowledge such efforts as well?”
Amol Palekar praises The Mehta Boys
Drawing a comparison between past and present filmmaking styles, Palekar remarked that 'The Mehta Boys' embodies the essence of storytelling reminiscent of his era.
“The problem is, we often lack the courage to experiment, so we keep churning out factory-made films of the same kind,” he said.
Amol Palekar on the influence of AI in cinema
Touching upon the growing influence of artificial intelligence in cinema, the 80-year-old icon acknowledged its role but maintained that technology can never replace human creativity.
“AI is another step or big jump for the industry. A noted musician, Zakir Hussain, passed away recently. His tabla and the sound he created can easily be recreated and reproduced through AI, but still, the tabla played by him will have a human effect. AI is created by a human being, but it can’t replace human talent,” he explained.
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