"We have a long way to go," says filmmaker Anurag Basu on lack of global audience for mainstream Indian films

Anurag Basu who is currently busy in the pre-production of 'Aashiqui 3,' shared the present scenario of Bollywood in terms of its standing in the global cinematic landscape.

Despite earning critical acclaim for films like 'All We Imagine As Light' and 'Anuja' on global platforms, filmmaker Basu believes that mainstream Indian cinema caters primarily to the Indian diaspora and audience. He acknowledges the industry's progress but feels there's still much more to achieve on the global stage.

In an interaction with ANI, Anurag said, "I think world cinema is noticing our films. But I think we have a long way to go because mainstream cinema still caters to the Indian diaspora and Indian audience. We still are far behind in getting a global audience. We only get an Indian audience globally. I think it is a long way to go."

The 'Barfi' director also compared the global outreach of the Hindi movie industry to the Korean film industry.

"We only cater to the Indian audience. We are as young as the Korean Film Industry. But they have a global audience. People see their movies, we see their movies. Our movies are only seen by Indians. And very handful of people who are passionate about cinema. We don't cater globally. We only care about Friday, Saturday and Sunday, weekend, 100 crore, 500 crore, bas vahi tak (till here only)," he said.

Anurag also shared an update on the making of Kartik Aaryan starrer Aashiqui 3.

"We have not started shooting yet. We will start the shoot next month." said filmmaker Anurag.

Apart from this, Anurag is also helming the sequel of his film 'Life in a Metro' which is titled 'Metro In Dino'. The anthology film stars Aditya Roy Kapur alongside Sara Ali Khan, Ali Fazal, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Anupam Kher, Neena Gupta, Pankaj Tripathi, and Konkona Sen Sharma in lead roles.

'Metro...In Dino' marks Aditya and Basu's second collaboration. The duo first worked together in 'Ludo'.

Sharing more details about the film, Basu had earlier said, "Metro In Dino is a tale of the people and for the people! It has been a while since I am working on this one and I am glad to be collaborating with a powerhouse like Bhushan Kumar yet again who has always been like a pillar to me!"

"The storyline is very fresh and relevant as I look forward to collaborating with amazing artists who bring that essence of contemporary aura with them. As music plays a very important role in any film, I couldn't be happier to be collaborating with my dear friend Pritam who has literally added life to the characters and story with his work," he added.

Anurag Basu is known for his films like 'Barfi', 'Life In a Metro', 'Ludo', and 'Jagga Jasoos'. (ANI)