Ekta Kapoor’s mic‑drop moment on Ranveer Allahbadia’s podcast cuts straight to the chase: Bollywood loves a splash of Western fantasy, but when it comes to Indian folklore, the industry’s bias shows up like a second skin. She shook her head at the paradox, saying, “Numbers are great for a film. What matters is that it deals with folklore.”
Her own past is a litany of “freak” labels. When she was a teenager, a club bouncer stopped her after a quick trip to a mandir, asking, “Did you go to a mandir?” Her reply was a quiet, “Yeah.” She then tossed a question back, “What’s so shocking?” Those moments, she says, still echo in a culture that prefers to keep spirituality on the fringes.
The Vvaan, directed by Deepak Kumar Mishra, is a low‑budget fantasy that leans heavily on the myth of Maa Van Devi Temple in Bihar. Starring Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia, the film weaves supernatural elements against a forbidden forest backdrop. It hit screens on September 25, riding a wave of curiosity over its folklore‑heavy plot.
Kapoor’s critique isn’t just a rant; it’s a call to the industry that has repeatedly sidelined regional myths in favor of global tropes. Bollywood’s history is littered with sanitized retellings of Indian legends – a pattern that Kapoor insists must change if the cinema wants to stay rooted.
What’s next? Kapoor hinted at a new project that promises to tackle a different slice of Indian mythology, and she’s already rallying a group of like‑minded producers to push the conversation forward. The debate is live, and the spotlight is wide.
Verdict: Ekta Kapoor’s out‑of‑the‑box honesty is a wake‑up call that the silver screen still has a long way to go in embracing its own heritage.