Radhika Apte says rising violence in Indian films is disturbing and warns gore is replacing storytelling

Highlights:

• Radhika Apte criticises graphic violence becoming mainstream entertainment
• Says gore is replacing storytelling across films and streaming platforms
• Links concern to raising a child in today’s media culture
• Questions poor scripts and how women are shown on screen

Radhika Apte’s comments on rising violence in films have sparked fresh debate across the industry. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter India, the actor said she is “deeply disturbed” by how violence in films is now sold as entertainment, warning that shock and gore are overtaking storytelling across cinema and streaming.

Radhika Apte says gore is replacing story across films and streaming Getty Images

Why Radhika Apte says rising violence in films worries her

Radhika Apte did not soften her words. She said the scale and detail of violence now shown on screen feels unnecessary and troubling.

“I feel quite disturbed, and I have to say this openly,” she said. “I’m deeply disturbed by the violence at the moment that is selling as entertainment.”

She linked the issue directly to real life. Having recently become a mother, Apte said she struggles with the idea of raising a child in a culture where brutality is treated as spectacle.

“I don’t want to be bringing up a child in a world where that’s entertainment. I just cannot deal with it,” she added.

Apte stressed that violent stories are not new. What has changed, she said, is the insistence on showing every act in graphic detail, as if scale alone equals impact.

Radhika Apte raises alarm over rising violence shaping Indian cinemaGetty Images

How gore is replacing storytelling, according to Apte

Apte said violence does not need to be shown blow by blow to land its point. She questioned why brutality now has to be spelled out on screen to be taken seriously.

“If I want to tell the story of a man who chopped people, I don’t need to see the chopping and the horrible things they’re doing,” she said. “That’s not storytelling.”

She warned that the effect goes beyond cinema halls. “The effect of this on society is so large,” Apte said, calling it “deeply upsetting” that such content is what sells.

Films like Dhurandhar starring Ranveer Singh, Arjun Rampal, Akshaye Khanna and R. Madhavan are sparking fresh arguments in the industry. People are talking about how violence is shown on screen. Some think gore is being used to shock rather than tell a story.

Since theatres reopened after the pandemic, bigger, louder films have been doing better at the box office. Smaller, quieter films with character-led stories are struggling to get attention. The same is true on streaming platforms.

Radhika Apte says violence on screen is crossing a lineGetty Images

Radhika Apte on scripts, actors and industry shortcuts

Radhika Apte also spoke about creative fatigue. She said she now wants to choose fewer projects and be more selective.

“It takes a lot,” she said of acting. “You have to be emotionally available, and I don’t want to be emotionally available to people I don’t respect anymore.”

She criticised poorly developed scripts being pushed forward on the strength of star power. Apte described an industry habit of expecting actors to “fix” weak writing.

“People write shoddy scripts. One draft, then they say, ‘I have a vision,’” she said. “Give it to me on paper.”

She added that many characters are written with gaps and inconsistencies, something she no longer wants to spend energy correcting.

Radhika Apte challenges film industry over normalising brutalityGetty Images

What Radhika Apte said about women on screen

Apte was equally direct about how women are portrayed. She said she finds it disturbing that actresses continue to accept roles that demean women.

“I think we need to collectively stop doing them,” she said, adding that financial incentives should not override responsibility.

Radhika Apte says violent spectacle is drowning out real storytellingGetty Images

Apte’s next film, Saali Mohabbat, directed by Tisca Chopra, is headed to ZEE5 and has already played at IFFI and at the Chicago South Asian Film Festival.

For now, her comments stand as a clear warning. Violence may draw crowds, but the cost, she suggests, is already being paid.