Mar 23, 2026 7:46pm IST
Milap Zaveri on Reunion With John Abraham: ‘He is Someone Who Resurrected My Career at One Point When I Had Given Quite a Few Flops’ (EXCLUSIVE)
In recent years, the Hindi films that have worked at the box office are 1980s-style films celebrating heroism and showcasing lead protagonists' larger-than-life aura. The ‘angry young-man’ of Amitabh Bachchan and other mass actioners dominated the late ‘70s and ‘80s, and the ‘90s onwards, love stories and dramas with a dash of comedy were the ones that worked.
The Hindi film industry, especially after the post-COVID phase, went back to masala entertainers, which brought back the audience to the cinema halls but also set new milestones at the box office.
Director Milap Zaveri, known for helming films like “Satyameva Jayate” and “Ek Deewane Ki Deewaniyat,” expresses joy at the return of mass cinema in Bollywood.
“Mass cinema has always been the most consumed cinema in this country. There was a lull in the phase during the ‘90s when love stories and YRF, Dharma’s NRI catering love stories came to the forefront. But if you look at the top grossers of all time, they always had heroism. You take 'Sholay,' 'Mughal-E-Azam' and now we have 'Animal,' 'Chhaava,' 'Dhurandhar,' 'Gadar 2,' 'Jawan' and 'Pathaan.' They are all commercial massy Hindi films,” Zaveri tells Variety India.
The filmmaker shares that watching a mass cinema with the audience in the theater in indescribable, “I am glad that it's going back to that. The South industry never stopped making those kinds of films. So, I am happy that massy cinema is being made again, and it is working. I feel that the experience of watching a film in a theatre where the audience is clapping, whistling, and cheering is indescribable. I don't think anything else can replicate or replace that feeling. So, I am happy people are slowly beginning to realize that massy films are also a respectable form of art and cinema.”
Milap, who directed John Abraham in “Satyameva Jayate” and its second part, calls the actor his ‘Hulk’ and says he’s among the few stars he loves to work with. “I love John Abraham. I always say he's my Hulk and the day I have a script that he's excited about and wants to do... I mean, there's no two ways about it. I would dive into it. I would love to make a film with John again. For me, he is someone who resurrected my career at one point when I had given quite a few flops,” reveals Milap.
The filmmaker is currently busy with his untitled next with Harshvardhan Rane and Akanksha Sharma. It is bankrolled by T-Series.
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