A recent survey interviewed over 5,000 people from various Indian states to gauge their trust in film critics who review Bollywood movies. The survey found that around 78% of respondents expressed distrust in mainstream film critics, indicating a preference for word-of-mouth recommendations when choosing movies to watch. The survey paper is not yet published.
The preliminary finding suggests that there is a crisis of credibility. Films like 'Animal' and even non-controversial sports biopics like 'Maidaan' are criticized by Bollywood reviews in an attempt to over-analyze them. On the other hand, mindless commercial entertainers like 'Jawan' are given a clean chit by the same segment that otherwise looks for logic in Salman Khan's potboilers.
Mainstream critics in both Hindi and Telugu cinema are losing their influence, with audiences increasingly turning to YouTubers for film reviews. This shift is likely due to a perceived lack of in-depth analysis, honest opinions, and consistency from traditional critics.
