Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Abhishek Bachchan on the shift from escapist cinema to realistic cinema

Abhishek Bachchan on the shift from escapist cinema to realistic cinema

Bollywood is known for churning out hundreds of films every year, belonging to different genres and set in a different milieu.

However, just as any other film producing industry across the world, Bollywood has also shifted its focus towards realistic cinema, especially after the advent and rapid proliferation of streaming media platforms in the country.


A lot more actors and filmmakers are willing to take bigger risks and make movies that talk about real issues than just following formulaic ideas and basing premises on done-to-death topics. Does that mean the days of escapist cinema numbered? Well, Bollywood star Abhishek Bachchan does not believe so.

“People at the end of the day want entertainment. Entertainment does not mean slapstick comedy. Entertainment means for those 2-3 hours that you are watching a film, you are removed from your actual world, filled with problems, and transport it to a different world, when you view something, and you feel entertained. Whatever the genre of that be, as long as it is good, people will watch it, as simple as that,” he told a publication in a recent interview.

When asked if there is anything he watched on a streaming media platform that he really wished could have an experience of watching in theatre, he said, “So, that’s a difficult question to answer because as actors, you do not get the opportunity to go to the theatre as often as you want to and if you do, you go on the circumstances which do not really allow you to optimise the viewing experience of the theatre. ‘You know, you go quietly and before the lights come on, you sneak out. You do not get to sit down and just enjoy the film. So sadly, a lot of us end up seeing films in either a preview or at home. So, we are pretty used to seeing stuff on the television. That’s what I am saying and because we have been part of filmmaking for so long, you know what it could have possibly translated to on-screen. So, I am pretty used to it. So, I have never thought about it in that sense.”

Abhishek Bachchan can be currently seen in Bob Biswas which is streaming on ZEE5.

More For You

Top 10 Films That Shaped Shivam Khajuria’s Journey

Shivam Khajuria

Top 10 films that shaped Shivam Khajuria

Popular actor Shivam Khajuria has showcased his impressive talent in top TV serials such as Molkki, Mann Sundar and Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai.

He is currently displaying that range in the hugely popular drama Anupamaa, earning wide acclaim. Away from the small screen, the television star is also a passionate cinema lover. He shared his all-time favourite films with Eastern Eye.

Keep ReadingShow less
Parle Patel: British‑Indian Reframes Big Screen Identity

Parle Patel

Parle Patel’s great Gujarati leap: How the entertainer brought British-Indian identity to the big screen

Parle Patel has been a magnetic force in entertainment for nearly 15 years, combining laughter, language and layered identity into sketches, stage shows, radio and social media reels.

The “all-round entertainer”, best known as a fierce champion of Gujarati culture, has gained a loyal global following that spans from London to the heartlands of India.

Keep ReadingShow less
Jungkook

Jungkook under fire for wearing Make Tokyo Great Again cap at BTS concert rehearsal

Twitter/ Pannchoa/ Getty Images

Jungkook apologises after backlash for wearing ‘Make Tokyo Great Again’ cap at BTS rehearsal

BTS star Jungkook has issued a public apology after sparking backlash for wearing a cap with the phrase “Make Tokyo Great Again” during a rehearsal for J-Hope’s concert. The phrase, seen as politically loaded, upset many fans in South Korea, with some calling it offensive and thoughtless.

The singer, who recently completed his mandatory military service, said he was unaware of the slogan’s sensitive background and admitted that he should have been more cautious.

Keep ReadingShow less
Aisha Khan Revives Vintage Soul at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club

Aisha Khan

Aisha Khan brings vintage soul to Ronnie Scott’s with jazz and rhythm and blues revival

With a voice that echoes both the glamour and grit of a bygone era, British singer Aisha Khan is set to take centre stage at London’s legendary Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club on June 29.

Performing with her acclaimed band The Rajahs, Khan will present a rich cocktail of 1940s and 1950s American roots music, jazz and rhythm and blues – blending timeless classics with her own original songs. Known for her evocative vocals, magnetic stage presence and deep reverence for the great female vocalists of the past, Khan promises a night filled with toe-tapping rhythm and heartfelt emotion.

Keep ReadingShow less
Lewis Hamilton  F1

Lewis Hamilton served as co-producer and advisor for F1, guiding everything from story to technical racing details

Getty Images

Lewis Hamilton rewrote the rules of racing on screen, says F1 director: ‘We built the film around his mind’

Brad Pitt’s upcoming Formula One film, titled F1, owes much of its realism and racing soul to none other than seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. According to director Joseph Kosinski, the film wouldn’t exist in its current form without Hamilton’s hands-on involvement, from the first pitch to the final details.

Kosinski, best known for Top Gun: Maverick, shared that Hamilton was the first person he contacted when the project was just an idea. An email led to a partnership, and Hamilton came on board not only as an executive producer but as a consultant whose lived experience shaped everything from the screenplay to on-track movements.

Keep ReadingShow less