Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui has voiced strong criticism of the Hindi film industry’s current trajectory, blaming its creative decline on a fixation with sequels and borrowed ideas. In a recent interaction with Puja Talwar, the Serious Men star spoke candidly about how insecurity has plagued Bollywood, leading to a wave of repetitive storytelling and uninspired content.

“Actually, insecurity has grown a lot. If one formula works, they keep milking it. What’s worse is that we now have sequels like 2, 3, 4. It’s pathetic,” Nawaz said. He coined the term ‘creativeruptcy’ to describe the industry’s creative drought, comparing it to financial bankruptcy. “There’s a lot of creative poverty,” he added.

Nawaz didn’t hold back in accusing the industry of plagiarism, particularly from South Indian films. “How can thieves be creative? We’ve stolen from the South, from everywhere. Even cult hits have copied scenes. And now theft has been normalised — people don’t even care anymore,” he said.

The actor also pointed out a disturbing practice within the industry, where filmmakers allegedly hand over video copies of existing films to technicians or directors and instruct them to replicate it. “What can you expect from an industry like this? The kind of actors it produces will reflect this lack of originality,” he remarked.

Nawaz also took the opportunity to express disappointment over the exodus of filmmakers like Anurag Kashyap, who he believes were sidelined for choosing substance over spectacle. “People like Anurag were bringing good work. But even they had to quit,” he said.

Earlier, Anurag Kashyap himself had revealed that he had distanced himself from Bollywood and moved out of Mumbai. In an interview with The Hindu, he said, “The industry has become too toxic. Everyone is chasing unrealistic targets, trying to make the next Rs 500 or Rs 800 crore film.”