Subhash Ghai is known for making a variety of movies which are remembered over the years – be it ‘Karz’, ‘Ram Lakhan’, ‘Khalnayak’ or ‘Pardes’. Ghai is also known for launching many newcomers who went on to become stars, for instace, Jackie Shroff.
However, the director has stopped making movies for a while. In a recent interview, he has revealed the reason for it. Ghai said during a chat with the YouTube channel Game Changers, “I stopped making films because I don’t see the love for cinema anymore—not in people, not even in my own team. They are all just working.”
He shared how things have become transactional now and aren’t creative anymore. “I gave an idea to a writer and asked him to develop a story. He told me he would finish it in 15 days, deliver the first draft in three days, and even demanded his full fee upfront. He gave me exact dates—when the story would be ready. I asked him, ‘Tu rotiyan paka raha hai? (Are you making chapatis?)’ How can I work with someone like that? The industry itself has trained him to think this way,” Ghai said.
He further criticised the current approach to filmmaking and said, “They say, ‘You send me on email, that is enough.’ Whatsapp mein toh script aur dialogue likhe hai aaj kal (People write script and dialogues on Whatsapp these days).”
Ghai also said that this is the reason why, Hindi cinema is no longer making superstars.
He explained, “That’s why the 80s actors are still superstars like Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Aamir Khan, and others. It is because they have come from that culture. In 10 years, who all became stars? No one except Ranbir Kapoor.”