Ameesha Patel on South vs Bollywood debate: They are not interested in making reels...

Ameesha Patel, who is gearing up for the release of Gadar 2, recently weighed in on the ongoing South vs Bollywood debate. In an exclusive interview with Republic Digital, the actress shared why South films are doing better at the box office than Bollywood.

3 things you need to know 

• Ameesha Patel has previously worked with Telugu stars Jr NTR, Mahesh Babu, and Pawan Kalyan. 
• The actress was also part of Tamil star Thalapathy Vijay's 2003 film Pudhiya Geethai 
• Ameesha Patel is set to reprise her role as Sakeena in Sunny Deol starrer Gadar 2. 

Ameesha Patel says Bollywood filmmakers are 'not passionate'

Sharing her experience of working in the South film industry, Ameesha Patel said, "I feel they focus on their work ethics and don't get carried away by social media platforms such as Instagram." Continuing, she said, "They are not interested in just being "spotted" or in making reels, tik tok or taking up ads. They are actually worried about what they are doing in front of cameras. What happened in Bollywood is that today we make more projects than sit on films."

(Ameesha Patel starred opposite Pawan Kalyan in the 2000 film Badri | Image: Facebook)

She elaborated, "Earlier, the script took 2-3 years in making, stories were sat upon, actors or actresses were conceptualised in certain roles. The film's casting was half a battle won. If they (filmmakers) saw you in a particular role, they waited if we weren't available. Now, it's just about 'isko lelo, iske dates available hai, 40 din mein film nikaalni hai', that's it. And I think that's where the quality has suffered. They (films) are not labours of love anymore and they (Bollywood filmmakers) are not passionate."

Ameesha Patel has been part of several South films including the 2005 film Narasimhudu, Pudhiya Geethai, Pawan Kalyan starrer Badri, Mahesh Babu's 2004 movie Naani and Nandamuri Bala Krishna's 2011 film Parama Veera Chakra. 

Ameesha Patel says, "Unfortunate South is getting recognition now'

Further, speaking about South films, Ameesha said that she feels they have always been good but were not respected until recently. During the interview with Republic Digital, Ameesha said, "The South was always good. It's just that we didn't respect it. So many South films have been remade. How can South films not be good if Bollywood was remaking them for 30-40 years?"

She added, "I remember when I was signing films with Jr NTR and Pawan Kalyan, I was told in the Hindi film industry 'oh acha hai, aapko discipline mil jaayega'. And I wondered...why you would look only at the discipline aspect! The scripts and the music were so different and the choreography was unique. That's precisely the reason why the rights of South films were bought and remade in Bollywood. It's just unfortunate that they (South) are getting the recognition now."

In recent years, South film industries -- Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada, have gained immense popularity in India and abroad. With content-driven regional films like Baahubali, Kantara, KGF, and RRR achieving global recognition for their direction and storytelling apart from performances and other filmmaking aspects, the geographical and language barriers were truly broken by these films in a big way. Notably, these films were not just critically acclaimed but also box office blockbuster hits.

(Ameesha Patel and Mahesh Babu shared screen space in the film Naana | Image: Twitter)

'Entertainment is universal', says Ameesha Patel

Ameesha concluded her chat by mentioning the Punjabi film Carry On Jatta 3, which is doing phenomenally well at the box office. The aforementioned film released in theatres on June 29 and has scripted history by becoming the highest-grossing Indian Punjabi film. The actress said, "At the end of the day, any film -- whether Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Bengali, Marathi or Punjabi, should always be respected no matter what the language. Entertainment is universal."

Ameesha Patel and Sunny Deol starrer Gadar 2 will release on August 11. The film will clash with Akshay Kumar's OMG 2.