O' Romeo' actor Shahid Kapoor says business-first mindset is damaging Hindi cinema: 'Don’t try to control it'

Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor has said the Hindi film industry needs to look inward rather than blame falling attention spans for weak box office runs. Speaking ahead of the release of his upcoming film 'O’Romeo', Shahid argued that audiences have not stopped loving cinema. He said the problem lies in what the industry is offering and how films are being packaged and sold, often at the cost of honesty and craft.

Bollywood films and the falling quality debate

In a conversation with Prakhar Gupta on his YouTube channel, Shahid said the decline cannot be pinned solely on doomscrolling or shrinking patience. “See, the candle is burning from both ends. The audience is losing patience; their minds can’t focus. They need stimulation, they need breaks, because it’s a dopamine hit,” he said. He added that creators are also affected by the same habits, which hurt their ability to focus and create.




He made it clear that viewers are still open to watching films. “It’s not that the audience doesn’t want to watch films; it’s also that we are not making as many good films as we should. So it’s a two-way process,” he said. The interview clip has been widely shared online and quoted by several entertainment portals.

Manufactured marketing and authenticity in cinema

Shahid also spoke at length about what he called manufactured marketing and how it has diluted the magic of cinema. He said the real joy of acting comes from genuine audience response. “That a room full of people is actually clapping, whistling, and acknowledging you, giving you status above their own, it’s a very beautiful thing. That’s why art is special,” he said.

According to Shahid, problems begin when promotion overtakes purpose. “But when that purity starts to be disrupted, and something manufactured comes into it, it no longer feels the same,” he added. While he acknowledged that promotion is unavoidable, he questioned excess. “Marketing is something everyone has to do; you have to do it, I have to do it. But when does marketing cross the line between right and wrong?” he asked, stressing that the answer depends on personal morality.

He summed up his belief in letting art breathe. “If you are seeking something authentic, human, spontaneous, then you should let it happen. Don’t try to control it.”

In a separate interview with the Punjab First Voice podcast, Shahid also addressed nepotism. He said being the son of Pankaj Kapur did not help his career. “People think I am an actor because I am Pankaj Kapur’s son,” he said, adding that he never used his father’s name to get work.

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