Madhur Bhandarkar was at his candid best on the third and final day of the Red Lorry Film Festival 2026 in Mumbai. The National Award-winning filmmaker voiced his grouse on falling music standards and the lack of commitment in Bollywood actors.
Madhur Bhandarkar said, “There was a time when we could easily remember songs with 2 or 3 antaras. We used to sing them during antakshari. Sometime back, I attended a marriage. It was nighttime and we began playing antakshari. We were all singing old songs. Koi naye gaane gaata hi nahin hai. And we remembered everything – mukhada as well as antara. Since childhood, we have memorized songs of Amar Akbar Anthony (1977), Parvarish (1977) etc. But in today’s times of Reels, we recognize songs for only 30 seconds. We are used to it. The brief nowadays to the lyricist is to focus on the mukhda. Even he has understood that 30-second aur 60-second ka hi khel hai. They are told, ‘Usko acche se fit kijiye. Logon ko antara mein koi interest nahin hai’. People are not ready to even listen to it.”
He added, “Aaj ke gaane yaad bhi nahin rehte. During Antakshari, we have never sung songs from films that came after the 90s. The latest song that we sang during Antakshari was that of Aashiqui (1990) or Saajan (1991).”
At another point in the conversation, Madhur Bhandarkar opined, “There are very few actors who would give that immense commitment. When I see a film like Dhurandhar and the unbelievable performance of Ranveer Singh, it is clear that he has given 2 or 3 years of his life. Sadly, people don’t want to go the difficult path.”
He continued, “Recently, we saw a spate of films which were remakes of South films. Many such movies flopped. It’s the easy way. If a new filmmaker asks that actor to opt for an innovative script, the actor would decline the offer. He might like the subject and yet, he would be apprehensive. But if an experienced filmmaker offers him a remake of a hit film, the actor would sign the film. He feels that half the battle is won as the film has worked down South. But that is not pushing the envelope.”
Madhur Bhandarkar further stated, “An actor is not ready to give 2 years to a film. He would rather think of doing 4 films in 2 years. If I had attempted a film like Kantara in Hindi cinema, I would have been told, ‘Kal se aana mat office mein’! Had I narrated a subject like Pushpa to anybody in the Mumbai film industry, that actor would have instructed his secretary, ‘Isko kal se yahan bulana nahin’. The conviction is missing. Even Animal would have gotten rejected. Hats off to Ranbir Kapoor for understanding its potential and for doing such a great job. Other actors would have pointed out 50 flaws.”
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