Ritesh Sidhwani on Why ‘KGF’ ’s Success Didn’t Change His Approach to Hindi Films: ‘We Don’t Need To Learn Or Unlearn Anything From South Cinema’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Ritesh Sidhwani says the success of South Indian films like “KGF” did not prompt Excel Entertainment to rethink its approach to Hindi cinema. The production house distributed the Hindi versions of both “KGF: Chapter 1” and “KGF: Chapter 2.” Sidhwani says, “The South films and makers, if you see, whether it is Prashanth Neel or anyone else, they say they have grown up watching Salim-Javed stories. They obviously use that (in their stories).”

Reflecting on audience expectations in different parts of India, he explains, “It is a very different audience there as well. I don’t think we (Hindi cinema) have been able to make films where the filmmakers are from the South and the actors are from here. We have not penetrated that market because I don’t know whether they consume our kind of storytelling. I don’t think we need to learn or unlearn anything. I think those stories are exciting for those audiences.”

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He adds, “‘KGF’ works here because we are not telling the stories in a certain way. I think those stories are exciting for our audience too. I saw ‘KGF’ and thoroughly enjoyed it.”

However, Sidhwani also says that they received backlash for supporting movies that others feel may not fit Excel Entertainment’s image, which includes acclaimed projects like “Dil Chahta Hai,” “Gully Boy” and “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara” among others. “A lot of people said it (“KGF”) is not an Excel kind of film. Some people say that about “Mirzapur” as well,” he shares.

When Sidhwani, along with Farhan Akhtar, decided to remake “Don” with Shah Rukh Khan, he remembers facing similar criticism. Sidhwani elaborates, “I remember when we made “Don” in 2006, people were saying that we were turning a romantic hero like Shah Rukh Khan into a negative character. People also kept adding, ‘You are letting the ‘Don’ survive and killing the good guys.’”

Sidhwani believes their approach is to never follow trends, and that’s what they kept in mind while making “Don” too. “You have to constantly change yourself. You have to do whatever excites you, is relatable to you and connects with you,” he shares.

Showing faith in the audience’s discretion, Sidhwani opines, “The audiences here are accepting of every kind of cinema. So I don’t know if we should be of the opinion that whatever is working in the South should be done here.”