Indian cinema yet to break out of regional ghettos: Ketan Mehta

Indian cinema is not able to capitalise on its volume and is still divided in ghettos, filmmaker Ketan Mehta said on Thursday.

The director said a handful of films, like "Baahubali", are able to break the language and barrier.

"I think Indian cinema has still not managed to break out of the regional ghettos. The European cinema travels all over the Europe. In India, in spite of 70 years of Independence, we still haven't been able to talk to each other. How many Telegu films do I see, apart from 'Baahubali'? Maybe 10. Apart from film festivals, there is no way to see them.

"We are not able to take advantage of the kind of population that India has. So we have to break through this is regional ghetto. And men managed to communicate with each other, much more intensely than we have," Mehta said at a panel discussion during the Jagran Film Festival.

Shobu Yarlagadda, the producer of "Baahubali", said one way to break into regional markets is through content-driven films.

"In south India, every state has a language. Tamil Nadu has Tamil, we have Telegu. But we don't cross over into each other. It is just 100 miles... We have grown up across the generations in silos, where we only appreciate or understand our very local film. 'Baahubali' could do it because of a very universal, friendly, Indian centric theme."