रीमेक का दौर खत्म, ऑडियंस को ओरिजिनल कंटेंट क्यों पसंद?
A scene from ‘Drishyam 3’!…(Photo courtesy- file photo)
Post-pandemic truth
If we look at the latest FICCI-EY Media and Entertainment Report (2024), it is clear that audience spending on Hindi cinema has fallen by about 13% from 2022. On the other hand, regional industries like Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam are booming in both theatrical and OTT. The report says, 1,796 films were released in 2023, increasing to 1,823 in 2024—but the growth is benefiting original scripts, and that too those films that touch social, emotional or cultural themes. Formulaic stories are now being left behind. The failure from ‘Housefull 5’ to ‘Baaghi 3’ clearly states this. If we go to understand the reasons behind this, the real reason is OTT platforms, which opened doors for everyone. Ten years ago the Hindi audience would not have known that the film was copied. But today everyone has already seen the original content on Netflix or Prime.
Producers’ logic: It’s business, not art
From the producer’s point of view, remake is a business decision – if the story has worked before, it will work again. Script is cheap, production risk is low, marketing is easy. But in 2024-25 this formula started showing flop. High-profile remakes like ‘Shehzada’, ‘Sarfira’ flopped despite strong marketing. ‘Deva’ is also included in this list. Box Office India’s 2024 analysis says, out of 25 post-pandemic remake films, 23 flopped or underperformed. Average returns drop 40% compared to 2019.
How OTT changed the meaning of cinema?
A 2021 RBSA Advisors report projects India’s OTT market to grow from $1.5 billion in 2021 to $12.5 billion by 2030. This growth can change the way of watching films. The biggest advantage in this is that now the language barrier has ended. Malayalam realism, European narratives, Korean aesthetics, the audience is getting to see everything. The standard Bollywood patterns – glossy romance, predictable plot twists, long runtimes – were beginning to feel outdated.
In the 2024 YouGov India Survey, 68% of urban respondents said they prefer “subtle and realistic” storytelling, not “larger-than-life” entertainment. This is the reason why a small-budget romantic drama like ‘Sayara’ became one of the most profitable Hindi films of 2025 without big stars. In mid-2025, Yash Raj Films released this film with debutants Ahaan Pandey and Anita Padda, which was given no hype, no franchise link, yet this film crossed 100 crores globally. Word-of-mouth and emotional connect worked wonders.
Although Syara was also accused of being a remake of a Korean film, its treatment in ‘Sayara’ was different. Most Bollywood remakes drown in literal copying, but ‘Sayara’ interpreted—not reproduced. This is a subtle difference.
Is Bollywood really out of ideas?
Industry insiders say that there is no dearth of creative ideas, but there is a dearth of money and people to believe in these new stories. Most big studios prefer “bankable” IP—franchises like ‘Singham’, ‘Tiger’, ‘Pushpa’—that can be monetized multi-platform. The displeasure of the audience is clearly visible on Reddit. One user wrote, “I don’t hate remakes, I hate the lazy ones. Take inspiration, but make you feel something new.” Second – “After watching Malayalam-Korean, watered-down versions of Bollywood are not digested. We want truth, not imitation.” This is not just the opinion of one or two users, but is a matter of people’s mind.
Repeating old stories creates a kind of stagnation. New voices, first-time writers, regional directors, Indian storytellers would all be sidelined. Films like ‘Missing Ladies’—based on research on gender discrimination and rural power structures—give new meaning to the original. The yearning for the original is such that as soon as Aryan Khan’s original series ‘Bads of Bollywood’ was released, people immediately liked it.
