Nawazuddin Siddiqui slams Bollywood, calls it a ‘chor’ for stealing from the south

Bollywood actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, while promoting his latest film Costao, criticised Bollywood for normalising plagiarism and repeatedly recycling formulas, calling the industry creatively bankrupt. In an interview with Puja Talwar, he openly addressed how Bollywood has long depended on stealing stories, songs, and ideas from other industries—especially South Indian cinema—instead of fostering fresh narratives and innovation.

Sharing his thoughts on the current state of affairs, Nawazuddin pointed out that Bollywood is stuck in a rut, endlessly repeating the same formulas for years before finally abandoning them once audiences lose interest. ‘Insecurity bohut badh gayi hai. Unko lagta hai ek formula chal raha hai toh usse chala lo, ghiso isko,’ he remarked  (There’s a lot more insecurity now. If a formula works, they keep pushing it, squeezing everything out of it). He further criticised the trend of making endless sequels, calling it a sign of creative fatigues. Describing it as ‘kangalipan’ (extreme poverty), he said, ‘It’s like creative bankruptcy — there’s nothing left in the tank anymore.’

Reflecting on Bollywood’s long-standing habit of copying, Nawazuddin stated, ‘Shuru se humari industry chor rahi hai. Humne gaane chori kiye, story chori ki,’  (Our industry has been stealing from the very start. We’ve copied songs, we’ve copied stories). He pointed out that even some cult classic films had scenes that were blatantly lifted from other works. Expressing frustartion over how deeply normalised this has become, he said, ‘Isko itna normalise kardiya gaya ki chori hai toh kya hua?’ (It’s been made so normal that people just shrug and say — so what if it’s copied?)

He explained that there was a time when producers would hand over a film and say “This is what we want to make” and the team would simply recreate it scene by scene. Questioning how an industry can thrive with such an attitude, Nawazuddin remarked, “Ab jo chor hote hain, voh kahan se creative ho sakte hain. Humne south se churaya, kabhi yahan se churaya, kabhi wahan se churaya,” (How can people who steal be creative? We’ve borrowed from the South, from here, from there — from everywhere). He warned that this culture ultimately affects the kind of actors and directors the industry produces and cited the example of filmmaker  Anurag Kashyap, who once championed fresh storytelling but eventually distanced himself from mainstream cinema out of frustration.