Saif Ali Khan on Bollywood not catering to global audience: ‘We don't really need verification, validation, appreciation from an outside culture'

Saif Ali Khan, bonafide Bollywood royalty and star of Netflix hit Sacred Games, says India’s massive film industry does not need international audiences to thrive. But that may not be a good thing, he cautions.

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The 49-year-old actor, whose latest film Jawaani Jaaneman is out on Friday, has starred in multiple blockbusters over the years, from Dil Chahta Hai in 2001 to Tanhaji, released earlier this month. Yet even as foreign films -- like South Korean hit Parasite -- find viewers and awards overseas, Bollywood has remained on the fringes of global entertainment, content to target India’s 1.3 billion population and millions of others from the diaspora.

“The thing about our culture... is that we don’t really need verification, validation, appreciation from an outside culture,” Khan told AFP in Mumbai. “There are so many of us that if we just keep each other happy then we don’t financially need anything,” he added.

But he warned that while such an insular approach may not harm Bollywood’s bottom line, it could be “dangerous” for the industry’s development. “Cinema is about people meeting, comparing, collaborating because the human condition is quite similar. But if we isolate ourselves... I think we will lose out on something because we will keep catering just to ourselves,” he said.