In a space of two weeks, the Indian audience was treated to two different releases. Cannes Grand Prix winner All We Imagine as Light made history by making Payal Kapadia the first Indian to score the Best Director nomination at the 2025 Golden Globe Awards, while Pushpa 2: The Rule rewrote history at the Indian box office with its stupendous collections. Yet, only one of them finds a place in theatres. On Tuesday, filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane called out the Allu Arjun-starrer for dominating screens across multiplexes, leaving no room for Kapadia’s gem to “breathe” or “find an audience”. With All We Imagine as Light set to be re-released in select theatres, Motwane’s post has brought the question out in the open: Do mainstream entertainers sideline independent films, making it difficult for them to survive?

Allu Arjun in Pushpa 2: The Rule