Filmmaker and former journalist Pratim D Gupta took to Instagram with a detailed post noting how the presence of Vijay Sethupathi and Sai Pallavi on a Kolkata shoot generated far greater excitement than Mani Ratnam‘s homecoming to the city or his work alongside cinematographer Avik Mukhopadhyay. Hrithik Roshan weighed in with a comment on the post, appearing to concur that it’s star power, not a genuine passion for cinema, that captures public attention today.
Pratim D Gupta calls out Mani Ratnam’s Kolkata return for going unnoticed
Pratim, in a lengthy post, described the current state of how cinema is celebrated in India as ‘heartbreaking’. He pointed out that this was Mani Ratnam’s first Kolkata shoot since ‘Yuva,’ yet all the attention went to Sethupathi and Pallavi instead. He further noted the indifference towards the fact that Mani was working with Avik, a cinematographer who has won the National Award three times, and for whom this marked his first Tamil film.Gupta wrote, “Perhaps this is not just a media problem. Perhaps it is a cultural problem. We have created a strange hierarchy where being seen has become more important than having made something,” and added, “A star walks into a restaurant and it becomes news. A great filmmaker walks into a city and we barely notice. A star waves from a car and thousands of people gather. A cinematographer creates an image that stays in our heads for twenty years and most people don’t even know his name.”
Hrithik Roshan agrees, calls India’s understanding of cinema ‘superficial’
Hrithik left a comment on Pratim’s post, expressing his agreement: “Cinema is bigger than stardom well said . Unfortunately we have a very superficial understanding of cinema here in India.”
Roshan added that Indian audiences tend to assume a star’s on-screen persona is a true reflection of who they actually are in real life. “Like how kids believe. Somehow we haven’t grown up to understand where the actual art lies. I hope more people discuss this. And start getting fascinated by all the other perhaps even more important aspects of filmmaking,” Roshan added.
About Pratim D Gupta’s filmmaking journey
Before turning filmmaker, Pratim worked as a journalist, and he made his directorial debut in 2012 with ‘Paanch Adhyay’, starring Dia Mirza. He has since directed several Bengali films, including ‘X: Past Is Present’, ‘Shaheb Bibi Golaam’ and ‘Maacher Jhol’, with his latest release being ‘Ranna Baati’ in 2025. His OTT debut came in 2023 with the Netflix series ‘Tooth Pari: When Love Bites’, followed by ‘Karma Korma’ for Hoichoi in 2025.
About Hrithik Roshan’s upcoming projects
Hrithik was most recently seen in the YRF spy thriller ‘War 2’ and made a cameo appearance in ‘Alpha’. He also appeared in the Netflix documentary The Roshans. Under his production banner, HRX Films, he’s producing ‘Storm’ and ‘Mess’ for Prime Video, and he’s set to make his directorial debut with ‘Krrish 4’.
