Amitabh Bachchan feels Hollywood is ‘destroying’ Indian market, urges people to stop ‘patronizing’ the west

Actor Amitabh Bachchan believes that Hollywood films are ‘destroying’ the local industries all over the world. He was referring to the massive box office success of the multi-starrer superhero franchise film, Avengers: Infinity War.

During an event to promote his film 102 Not Out, Bachchan was asked about his take on the success of Hollywood and the failure of Indian films in India. “This I was told in 1993, when I was on a causal visit to New York and I met some studios who were wanting to meet me and they told me, ‘You better get your house in order because India is the new frontier and Americans are coming.’ And everywhere Hollywood has gone, it has destroyed the local industry whether it’s England, Italy or Germany, they just come and take over. They have the money and the expertise. They have the quality and quantity. We are fighting against them,” he said.

Bachchan also urged people to stop patronizing Hollywood over Indian films. “So, whenever their films come out, please don’t patronise them because we are fighting against an ogre of Hollywood from overtaking us and destroying our industry. I spent some time with these young filmmakers and they think so big and massive. They don’t have any doubts about how to do things. They tell me, ‘We will do this and that,’ and I ask them, ‘But how will you manage?’. They assure me they know how to do it,” he added.

The veteran actor is, however, hopeful that the young filmmakers possess the ability to make big films here. “I still believe that emotionally we are stronger, but we will not able to match them in technology. But I have to say that the younger generation of our film industry are absolutely aware of what’s happening in the rest of the world. And they are spending a lot of money and energy to make their films equally big,” he said.

Bachchan’s remarks haven’t gone down well with a section of the audience, as can be seen from reactions on social media.