An award-winning author of 44 books, former UN official, and international human rights lawyer, Rajesh Talwar—presents a wide-angled and highly accessible new work, Bollywood, Hollywood and the Future of World Cinema. Divided into four parts, it stands out as one of the most timely and comprehensive studies of Indian and international cinema.
This unusual and fascinating book that explores Bollywood, Hollywood, and world cinema. In ‘A Bollywood Miscellany’, essays cover Amitabh Bachchan’s second innings, iconic dialogues, ‘Tiger’ saving democracy in Pakistan, Madhuri Dixit promoting numerical literacy in schools, and much more.
The second section, ‘Bollywood, Hollywood and the Others’, moves beyond Bollywood to explore cinema from regions with different languages such as Telugu, Malayalam, and Tamil. Essays highlight Charlie Chaplin’s influence on Raj Kapoor, question whether Satyajit Ray could have achieved even more and suggest collaborations with Japanese filmmakers in animation. They also examine A.R. Rahman’s contradictions, Anurag Kashyap’s realism, casting triumphs, the rise of K‑pop, and why Indian music struggles globally.
The third section examines the Justice Hema Committee Report, revealing its shocking findings and lessons for not just Malayalam cinema but the wider Indian film industry, including Bollywood. As yet, no other book has explored this landmark report in depth.
The final section, ‘The Future of World Cinema’, looks ahead to formula films of the future, India’s cinematic potential, the role of awards like the Oscars, the impact of Artificial Intelligence, and how if Indian cinema gets its act together, it could one day rival Hollywood.
Rajesh Talwar is an international award- winning author of 44 books, across multiple genres which includes plays, novels, children’s books, self-help books, and non-fiction works on social justice, law, culture and other subjects.
His plays range from contemporary events to historical retellings, and his novels span subjects as diverse as aesthetics, terrorism and the intricacies of the Indian legal system.
Among his non-fiction books on legal and political subjects are ‘Courting Injustice: The Nirbhaya Case and its Aftermath’ (Hay House; 2013) and ‘The Mahatma’s Manifesto: A Critique of Hind Swaraj’ (Om Books International; 2025).
The Bearded Prince, The Three Greens (Orient BlackSwan; 2017) and The Boy Who Wrote a Constitution (Ponytale Books; 2022) are three of his well-known children’s books.
Rajesh has worked for the United Nations in senior positions across three continents over a period of two decades and regularly contributes to both domestic and foreign publications. He has studied for shorter and longer durations at Nottingham, Harvard, Cambridge, Oxford and Hindu College, Delhi University.
Rajesh studied filmmaking at the London Film Academy (LFA) and is currently producing and co-directing an AI generated animated feature film on toxic terror titled ‘Smoky Sky Songs.’
To delve deeper into the world of global cinema and what all his latest release discusses, Sonakshi Datta of GoaChronicle had a word with Rajesh, and posed a few questions to the author.
‘Bollywood, Hollywood, and The Future of World Cinema’ Author Rajesh Talwar
With Indian and world cinema both being crucial points of focus of your new book, how would you describe the similarities and differences between the both? Do you think Indian cinema is at par with world cinema, as far as providing a commendable cinematic experience is concerned?
We are an emotional people, and that reflects in our acting—sometimes even in overacting. On the other hand, in Hollywood, as Shekhar Kapur observes, actors sometimes do not emote sufficiently. Our films also feature song-and-dance routines that often fail to appeal to overseas audiences. Neither do our overly formulaic films work.
That said, many excellent films are being made in India, even if these may represent a smaller percentage of our total output. We produce so many films that all kinds of cinema can coexist, the bad, the terrible, the middling, the good and the excellent. To answer your question, some of our films are on par with the best in Hollywood. Let us not forget, as Mr. Amitabh Bachchan once pointed out, that we work with vastly smaller budgets.
How do you think Indian cinema could strengthen its global position? What are the major points of concern for the industry to do the same?
There are many things we can and should do. The star system in India needs reform. Stars exist in all film industries across the world, even before the advent of cinema, but in our country, they are much too dominant, often at the expense of other professionals. We are willing to pay tens of crores to our stars, yet not enough to our storytellers, cinematographers, and other technicians. Our industry often treats extras and support staff shabbily. We need strong content. Stories are hugely important, as are dialogue and screenplay writers. We need to value our skilled technicians in all areas, including makeup artists.
Equally vital is original content that connects to who we are as a people and as a multicultural civilization. This cut-and-paste approach that has continued for decades in Bollywood must end. There is no shortage of stories in the country, and we must draw upon both our rich heritage and contemporary writing to create films that truly resonate. There is dearth of courage, not material.
When one speaks of Indian cinema, most people turn to Bollywood in no time, why do you think regional movie industries are unable to garner similar attention from audiences? What should be done for the latter to gain similar prominence?
This used to be the case, but it is no longer true, especially in respect of films coming from the southern part of our nation. In recent years, many films emerging from the South have been doing better business than those coming out of Bollywood. Take Pushpa: Part 1 and Pushpa: Part 2, or Kantara, for instance. Audiences in the north including the Hindi speaking belt are thirsty for good content and are tired of the formulaic plots that Bollywood continues to make films on.
The way things have been going these past couple of years, Bollywood itself may increasingly be considered a regional industry. It is merely thriving on its past glory and urgently needs to raise its game. Yet Bollywood is down, but not out. Recently, the film Dhurandhar was widely appreciated in the South and other regions. It succeeded because of its strong content, realism, acting and direction. Yet instead of celebrating Bollywood’s return to the centre stage, many producers and directors have reacted nervously because they are addicted to formulas and the star system.
Along with Indian cinema, Indian music too struggles to reach top positions in global charts, what factors do you believe lead to this, and how could the situation be improved?
There are many factors at play here. Language is one issue, but it does not fully explain the situation, as we can see from the visible global success of Kpop. More importantly, audiences in the West often prefer a band or performer whose personality they admire — a complete package. For instance, Bob Dylan wrote the lyrics to his own songs, composed the music, and sang them himself. All aspects, were brilliant one might add, especially the lyrics that fetched him the Nobel Prize.
In India, by contrast, the process of making song and music is subdivided. Javed Akhtar or Gulzar might write wonderful lyrics, someone else like AR Rahman directs the music, and a third person, Arijit Singh or someone else, sings the song. In a way, our system is better because it allows each person to hone their craft and special expertise. Yet in the West, audiences connect not just with the song but with the personality of the performer, and they value the live performance aspect as well.
There are ways to break this impasse. We need to be more flexible and experimental. Asha Bhosle is a true leader in this regard who has worked with many musicians from the West. Now, take Indian food, for example: it is a great cuisine, but some minor tweaks were needed before it started to appeal to foreigners, and now it enjoys global popularity. Similarly, we can and should make adjustments in our music and film industries. My book discusses this issue at length.
What makes ‘Bollywood, Hollywood, and the Future of World Cinema’ a must-read for all?
I believe there is something in it for everyone. If you are a lover of Bollywood, you will find essays on Raj Kapoor, Sridevi and Amitabh Bachchan. If you are a fan of films made in the south, there are interesting write ups on Rajinikanth. If you are drawn to art cinema, you can read about how one of our greatest film directors, Satyajit Ray, might have achieved even greater heights. Fans of world cinema will discover writings on Chaplin, Kurosawa, and others.
Those who enjoy Kpop will find one of its icons discussed, while admirers of Indian playback singers will encounter thoughtful analysis of their contributions. If you are an investor in films, you will find lessons on how to invest wisely and increase earnings from overseas screenings. For readers concerned about fairness within the film industry, there are discussions on nepotism. Those who feel angry at the treatment of dancers, extras, supporting actors and sexual exploitation within the industry will find within the pages of this book an in-depth analysis of the Justice Hema Committee Report. And so on.
