Ektaa Kapoor Calls Out Hinduphobia as The Vvaan Hits Rs 90 Crore

Ektaa Kapoor has never asked the industry for permission, and her latest interview makes clear she is still waiting for Bollywood to catch up. In a conversation with podcaster Ranveer Allahabadia on The Ranveer Show, the Balaji Telefilms head said the business carries ‘so much Hinduphobia’ – especially when it comes to how people read religious symbols and stories built on Hindu folklore.

A tika, a dhaaga and the ‘freak’ question

Kapoor recalled being mocked in her younger days for wearing a tika and dhaaga. The objection, as she remembers it, was blunt: why dress ‘like a freak’? Her reply was just as direct – wearing a tika and a dhaaga, she argued, should not count as freakish.

Allahabadia noted that she has also been labelled a tantrik. Kapoor tied that to the same discomfort: a tilak and an open expression of religious belief can still be treated as a provocation. She also remembered going from a temple to a club and being asked about it in a mocking tone. Her answer: ‘Yeah. What’s so shocking?’

Why this matters now

Those comments land while The Vvaan, a folklore-driven film starring Sidharth Malhotra and Tamannaah Bhatia, is still running in theatres. The film released on September 25 and has collected around Rs 90 crore gross worldwide. That number matters because it challenges the idea that Hindu folklore is a niche interest or television-only material.

Kapoor welcomed the comparison between The Vvaan’s visual world and a television serial, calling TV ‘the staple food of India.’ The point is clear: mass taste and culturally rooted storytelling often sit closer than the industry assumes.

What creators can take away

For filmmakers, writers and producers tracking this moment, the lesson is not to flatten cultural identity for broader appeal. It is to treat it as the hook:

• Start with the specific. A tika, a dhaaga or a piece of folklore is already a narrative entry point.
• Let audience appetite set the scale. The Vvaan’s Rs 90 crore gross is a counter to ‘too niche.’
• Refuse the double standard. If animation earns creative room, folklore and mythology deserve the same.

Kapoor agreed with Allahabadia that times are changing and described herself as ‘Gen-Z before Gen-Z.’ Her real argument is bigger than one film: audiences may be ready long before the gatekeepers admit it.

Source: India Today