Harman Baweja has seen the film industry from both sides of the lens — first as an actor in big-ticket Bollywood productions, and now as a producer steering content-driven stories. Having worked across regions and genres, Baweja believes the constant chatter about “Bollywood versus South cinema” misses the bigger picture. “At the end of the day, it’s the Indian film industry,” he says while talking to mid-day. “That’s what it’s all about.”

Baweja acknowledges the phenomenal run that South Indian films like Pushpa, KGF 2, and RRR have enjoyed nationwide. But he cautions against treating their success as the rule rather than the exception. “Of course, there are South films that have done brilliantly pan-India,” he admits. “But if you really sit down and count, there are maybe four or five that make it big in Hindi each year. There’s a perception that everything from the South works, but every industry faces its own challenges and constantly tries to break out — that’s just the nature of the business.”