r/IndianCinema

Hello everyone,

I (M32) recently decided to explore Indian cinema in greater depth after discovering Rajamouli’s work one after another (I’m not very original, I know).

I’m French, and here, it’s very difficult to find Indian cinema in good viewings conditions (video quality & language) —especially in theaters and through legal channels. I’ve discovered a few big “pan-Indian” hits, and every time it’s an adventure to track them down, especially in their original versions. I regularly come across films in “Hindi” or other Indian languages that have no connection to the film industry where the movie was shot, but it’s a real hassle to find them in their original versions—even for huge blockbusters like Baahubali (in Telugu) or K.G.F. (in Kannada)—and I’m actually (very) good at finding pirated copies. If it’s hard for me, then for a large part of my country, it’s mission impossible.

In France, movie lovers have a strong culture of watching films in their original language, so it shocks me that they’re so hard to access internationally (on Netflix and the most popular torrent sites, for example, major Indian blockbusters are generally available only in Hindi). To give you an example, RRR has only recently become available on Netflix here (3–4 years after everyone else), and the movie is only available in Hindi—it even starts playing in Turkish by default. WTF? Most of my friends who watched the movie after I pushed them to do so didn’t even realize they’d watched it in the wrong language—even though they’re pretty big movie buffs, they’re just uninformed, and no one’s giving them the tools they need.

I’m just wondering—innocently, and without meaning to judge or offend the Indian community—whether the original language of Indian films is traditionally something that the general public and/or Indian movie lovers take into account? I understand that many films are dubbed because Indian stars don’t all speak the same language in the films they star in—does that play a role in all of this?

Thanks !

To make a film that panders both…you will have to simultaneously impress our parents and will from Connecticut and Yul from China.

It’s an impossible task.

Because Authentic Indian Films are too different from Gloabal Taste, and anyone who tries ends up losing their core audience as well.

Even other global films like Parasite or Everything Everywhere All at Once are only popular in cinephile circles.

And Avengers/Spiderman is just a young person thing irrespective of country…our parents aren’t watching that shit.

I rewatched Queen recently, and honestly, it feels strange now.

Rani is everything Kangana's public persona sometimes seems to stand against. She's sheltered, inexperienced and unsure of herself, but the entire film is about her discovering that she has the right to make her own choices. She travels alone, meets people outside the world she's always known, becomes financially and emotionally more independent, and eventually realises that being a “good woman” doesn't mean shrinking yourself to fit someone else's expectations.

And then there's Kangana today.

The contrast is hard to ignore.

This is an actress who played one of Hindi cinema's most beloved portrayals of a woman finding her freedom, while later making deeply dismissive comments about young women and Gen Z, including referring to them in degrading terms. She's also promoted the idea that India only received its “real” independence in 2014 and repeatedly leans into a kind of rigid, dogmatic political rhetoric that feels completely at odds with the openness that Queen represents.

And that's where separating the art from the artist gets complicated.

Because I don't want to rewrite history and pretend Kangana wasn't phenomenal in this film. She was. Rani works because Kangana makes her feel awkward, funny, vulnerable and completely believable. It's one of those performances where you stop seeing the actor and just see the character.

But I also don't think appreciating the performance requires defending the person behind it.

Queen doesn't belong to Kangana's current politics. Rani isn't responsible for the opinions of the woman who played her. The character exists independently now, and what she represents can mean something to people regardless of what the actor believes.

If anything, the irony makes the film more interesting.

Rani's entire journey is about refusing to let other people dictate what kind of woman she's supposed to be.

And that's a message I can still believe in, even when I strongly disagree with the person who delivered it.

Maybe that's what separating the art from the artist actually means—not pretending the artist hasn't changed, but refusing to let their later actions erase what the art meant to you.

Kangana can be Kangana. Rani can still be Rani.

Ig we

I guess after Leo or DC everyone seems to be making Action thriller movies

Anyways Amazing thriller that to from malayalam ,let's see

What do u think guys??

https://preview.redd.it/pkhujisnp2kh1.png?width=665&format=png&auto=webp&s=9675d4ffe13cf08fb6a8d351a423c34bb1fba465

I was having discussion on this with my group of friends, and few films that came up were
Gangs of Wasseypur
A Wednesday
Drishyam
DDLJ
Kal ho na ho
Any other Movies you all can suggest??