Is Bollywood's Golden Age Coming to an End?

Bollywood, which was once a mighty movie industry that managed to impress audiences for several years, is now in the midst of a big identity crisis. What was once a movie industry that brought forth big, romantic storylines, infused with heroism, action figures, and beautiful songs, like 'Mughal e Azam', 'Baiju Bavra', 'pyasa', and 'guide " is now a reality that has been driven with low box office sales and not enough critical appraisals.

Recent failures on the box office such as the high-budget film, "Bade Miyan Chote Miyan" by Akshay Kumar and the film "Maidaan" by Ajay Devgn have shaken Bollywood. It is apparent that the golden age of Bollywood is about to be a thing of the past.

These failures have become very fundamental across the entire industry. The Cinema theaters once filled with life are now dying one by one. To be honest, this does not look well as far as new movies and exciting ideas are concerned, movie theater owners have to decide whether to keep up with business operation standards or save money through other means like discontinuing some of the activities.

Since the pandemic, several factors especially a lack of creativity, over-dependence on celebrity power, and the development of marshy story formulas have become the melanin of the efficacy of the industry. The generation of today is becoming more knowledgeable, they do not need traditional stories and movies where the characters are given the same old reused lines. The Bengali and Assamese films along with the web series are the ones that are also carving an amount from the plate of Bollywood by providing a wide range of content among the public.

Covid times have aggravated the situation of the Bollywood movie industry due to the great loss of profit. The long lockdown that was regulated by the government not only forced theaters and cinema chains to go out of business but also changed people's habits. They went from live exhibitions to a digital art form taking them out of the rhythm of life. Moreover, the return to normalcy has been slow, yet to go back to theaters like before.

Moreover, the entertainment landscape has been changed greatly. Due to social media influencers, and digital creators' appearance, traditional Bollywood stars have less power. Young people's tendency is that of the online world from preferring the celluloid one.

It is also indicative of the fundamental loss of faith in this industry's capacity to innovate and design an offering that meets the needs of newer audiences with different technical trends. This is why this present situation calls for rational and temperate reflection on the creative imagination.

Still, there is something to listen to. A new breed of young filmmakers is emerging who are probing ways of storytelling and shaping narratives. No matter what, it is the distinct and audience-driven films like that of "Gadar 2", "Pathaan", 'Bhoolbhulya 3', 'Pushpa 2 the rule' that are proved that they can still perform at the box office.

The continuous reshaping of Bollywood is perhaps their last chance of survival: if only the nostalgia of the Bollywood cinema matched the myriad of thoughts, cultures, and storytellers.

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