Ratna Pathak On Bollywood's Lack Of 'Real Writers': 'Our Best-Known Films Are Frame-By-Frame Copies'

Ratna Pathak Shah is currently gearing up for the release of her upcoming film Dhak Dhak with Dia Mirza, Fatima Sana Shaikh and Sanjana Sanghi. The actress has had a long-spanning acting career across mediums such as theatre, television and cinema. In a recent interview, she opened up about the dearth of Bollywood films with an all-female cast and the lack of “real writers” in the industry.

Talking to Film Companion, Ratna said, “We had no real writers for a very long time. At least in the ’80s and ’90s, I just saw plain copies of Hollywood movies, being made over and over again, and passed off as original.” She continued, “Some of our ‘best-known films’ are literally frame-by-frame copies. We unfortunately spent a lot of time being happy to make the same kind of things over and over again.”

The actress then said that as OTT took over young Indian audiences, a wide variety of films across genres became accessible here and the industry witnessed a creative shift.

Speaking of creatively adapting to better cinema, Ratna mentioned that for her film Dhak Dhak, she learnt how to ride a bike at the age of 65. She told Bollywood Hungama, “I have driven bikes in my dreams many times. I used to look at bike riders and think that someday I will too ride a bike but I didn’t know that at the age of 65, I will have to ride a bike.”

Dhak Dhak will be released in cinemas on Friday, October 13. The film reportedly revolves around four women who bravely set out for an adventure by embarking on a road trip to the highest motorable pass in the world on their bikes on a journey of self-discovery. The film is written and directed by Tarun Dudeja of Freddy and Shrikant Bashir fame.