(This story appears in the 10 January, 2014 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)
Mitter and Ajwani\'s five point alert are well placed. The Bollywood industry is one of the richest and largest in the world, yet poorest in terms of story telling, artistic nuances, creativity and cinema entertainment. It seems like the craft of film making in India is stuck in the 1920\'s and no amount of advancements in the world cinema effects the product quality in Bollywood productions. Face it, it is third class by any comparison and guaranteed so regardless of the hype or names of the superstars. Is it because the Indian movie industry has no aspirations to compete outside India? The current participation in terms of revenue is less than 5% in a over 10 Billion dollar world market. It is time to change and the biggest challenge is for the film institutions responsible for teaching the skills, namely, story writing, plot designs, editing, cinematography, etc., etc. The current crop of movie makers need to be retired and replaced with new blood with better training with willingness to learn and experiment. The potential for India given its cultural depth, spirituality, family bonding, ethos, and rich story telling traditions, will catapult the film industry to the top in a short period if Bollywood decides to play it\'s role seriously.
on Jan 5, 2014