Veteran actor Puneet Issar recently shared his views on the success of Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal and the growing popularity of South Indian cinema. While Animal received mixed reviews—praised by many and criticized by others for its alleged misogynistic tone—it crossed ₹500 crore at the box office. Issar complimented the movie, describing it as “amazing” and noting Kapoor’s impressive performance as an alpha-male character.
When speaking with Digital Commentary, Issar talked about why South Indian movies such as Pushpa and RRR are connecting more with viewers than some Bollywood films. He credited their success to stories centered around strong, dominant male characters, which he believes connect better with the masses. “Pushpa was a massive hit because of its mass appeal. The South makes alpha-male driven films. That doesn’t mean they are male chauvinists—it’s just what audiences want to watch,” he explained. He further stated that Bollywood stars like Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan also achieved success by playing such roles.
Puneet Issar further condemned Bollywood’s growing trend of featuring LGBTQ+ themes, claiming the industry is producing too many movies revolving around gay and lesbian characters. Talking about Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui, he stated, “It opened at 12 and was withdrawn by 12:30. Is that what we should be making?
” Though he accepted the presence and rights of the LGBTQ+ group, he challenged the excess, querying, “Do you only want to make films about lesbianism or gays?” Referring to the older movies such as Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Issar mentioned that even then, even more provocative themes were dealt with in dignity. He ended by stating that filmmakers should stick to telling stories representing a larger section of society and not get carried away by trends or business pressures.
