Indian cinema is not realistic: Irrfan Khan

Actor Irrfan Khan feels Bollywood is not the reflection of a cinema which is connected to reality.

"Indian cinema is far from reality. It is just about the dream world and hence hard hitting issues are not usually raised," Irrfan said.

"But in the past few years Bollywood has been transforming too in terms of the subjects of movies, but still it is not bold enough to raise Dalit issues," he said.

The 47-year-old actor, who is known in Bollywood not only for his acting skills but also variety in his roles, believes that the box office worries are also a major reason for the current situation.

"People like Govind Nihalani had the courage to make movies like 'Aakrosh'. That generation of filmmakers were not worried much about the 'box office'," he said during a session at the five-day-long Jaipur literature festival starting from today.

Irrfan was in conversation with Neerav Patel, known for his contribution to Gujarati dalit literature and Rajasthani author Hariram Meena.

"Dalit literature is still not given the value, the attention it should be get. I believe we need more dalits coming forward and trying to spread this message using art and culture," Patel said.

However, Hariram Meena chose to differ from Patel on this point.

"Even if there are more Dalit leaders, that tag will always be there. They are not nationally accepted," he said.