Is Bollywood's audience warming up to indie films? Irrfan Khan thinks so

Irrfan Khan's journey in Bollywood has been nothing short of inspirational. Long touted as an indie actor, the Hindi Medium star's work is now finding a mainstream audience, owing to a shift in storytelling priorities in Bollywood.

Irrfan says it's been an organic change and one that he's glad to see finally happen.

"For me, last year closed with a bang. The most interesting thing was, I was honoured at the Dubai International Film Festival along with Cate Blanchett, who is my most favourite actor. So it can't get any better for me," he shared in a recent interview.

Irrfan won a popular award for Hindi Medium at the Star Screen Awards last month, which is quite a change from the critics' awards that he usually gets. He attributes the mass popularity of that film to a happy marriage of "content with popularity" or mass appeal.

"I am happy that thanks to it, I crossed the bridge from 'critics favourite' to 'popular acceptance'. And I did it on my own terms; I didn't have to go the so-called massy route," he says.

"It is now a necessity to have new ways of storytelling if Hindi cinema wants to survive."

"I can't ignore my need to tell the stories in my way and compromise on the kind of films I want to do and reach a mass audience. So, I am happy that the audiences now want to watch fresher and newer content. It is becoming easier to reach a wider audience, a mass audience through my kind of films. So it's all coming together and happening organically."

So is Bollywood changing with the space between mass entertainers and non-mainstream cinema closing?

"It began a few years back as Hollywood cinema was becoming stronger and stronger. With time, regional cinema has also become bigger. Hindi cinema can no longer ignore the audience's need for fresh content. It is now a necessity to have new ways of storytelling if Hindi cinema wants to survive."

We look forward to seeing what Irrfan brings to Bollywood's big screen this year.