THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Actor Naseeruddin Shah has said that popular Bollywood films should have some content if they are to sustain the current interest they receive among the international audience.

Participating in an Open Forum organised as part of the ongoing International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) here on Sunday Mr. Shah said, “suddenly, commercial Hindi films made in Mumbai have become popular among the international circles, just like Indian food has become popular. But Indian food had some substance. Unless Bollywood films infuse some content into them, their current fascination among International audience will disappear soon.”

Capturing life

“I am not sure of the revolutionary or life-altering possibilities of cinema. But I am sure cinema is a medium which can capture life more authentically than any other medium. If 100 years later somebody were to make an assessment of Indian life based on Bollywood films, it would be tragic. I am into serious cinema to explore this life capturing possibility of the medium.”

Filmmakers P.T. Kunjumuhammed and Sreedhar Rangayan were also present at the Forum.

A seminar on ‘Cinema at/of the margins’ organised as part of the festival dwelt on the issues of marginalisation and how cinema as a form of resistance can express those issues.