MUMBAI: Rajkummar Rao, known for his instinctive choices and commitment to craft, recently opened up about the changing landscape of cinema and the growing influence of algorithms on creative decisions. Speaking at a recent event, the actor reflected on how streaming platforms have reshaped audience behaviour, often in ways that defy logic, and how this shift is affecting filmmakers and performers alike.
In a candid and introspective moment, Rajkummar shared, “Honestly, I'm still learning. I'm still trying to figure out. It's actually like theatres. Sometimes a below average film works very well on streaming platforms. And you wonder, really? This one did so well, and a really good film - nobody talks about it. And you wonder, what's the update? It's the same like theaters. There is a lot of algorithm, lot of data, analysis which, I think, people don't understand. I'm pretty sure, whether it's Francis Ford Coppola who made Godfather, or when Manmohan Desai made Amar Akbar Anthony - they didn't think about the target audiences. They just wanted to tell those stories. So that is something that I am missing. We have become too analytical and too data-based. We are not telling stories which are from the heart - which I think Rishabh Shetty has done wonderfully in Kantara. He didn't think about - “I’m going to make this for a certain audience.” He just told that story with full conviction and made a beautiful film out of it. And hit it out of the park. So, that is something, as a creative person, as an actor, I miss. I really miss. I miss seeing good actors on screen - be it streaming or theatres.”
Rao’s remarks underline a larger industry-wide concern—how creative risk-taking is being overshadowed by data-driven strategies. By urging a shift back to stories told with conviction rather than analytics, Rajkummar reinforces his belief that cinema must remain, at its core, something that comes right from the heart. His perspective is a reminder that audiences ultimately respond to honesty, originality, and emotional truth values he continues to champion through his own body of work.
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