Why the Past Feels Safer: Nostalgia’s Grip on Modern Entertainment

Since the start of 2026, we have seen a sudden surge of posts remembering the “golden year” of 2016. With Bollywood biggest stars sharing their sweet collection of pictures from 2016 to the “lush dance challenge”, somehow that one specific year has caught up with us all.

It's safe to say we are all unable to avoid this nostalgia. Internet users find themselves reminiscing about their youth and fruitful years, feeling a deep longing for the simple, beautiful past of Bollywood. 
This emotional connection makes the industry's decline more personal and relatable.

Why the sudden surge

Remembering the past always comes along with our unsatisfied emotions. For instance, take Bollywood. People are so fed up with the recent trend of remakes and sequels that they're reminiscing about films released decades ago.

Stars like Imran Khan, who have left the industry long back, are now the so-called GenZ superstars and are referred to as “actors that Bollywood did not appreciate”. His films are still watched by audiences who appreciate and miss his work.

Most of the audience can't help but compare the recent films to those released in the past. Despite increased budgets, they feel disappointed by the lack of authentic stories and genuine creativity, which fuels their frustration with Bollywood's current state.

Some old stars, like Kajol, have been caught on camera expressing how glorious Bollywood was in the past when there was no internet. This nostalgic reflection highlights the loss of authenticity, prompting the audience to long for an era that felt genuine.

Why do we still remember the past?

When we look back, we often glorify and romanticise the past because nostalgia is attached to it. In our minds, we are not really recalling the film; we think back to how it made us feel.  That film might not be a masterpiece to you now, but it felt like one to your younger self.

As kids, anything and everything is exciting. Our expectations are nonexistent, so whatever we see, we tend to remember it uniquely. We look back at times and find it more comforting and rewarding for our souls.

A film like Sholay, which even our parents and their parents watched, seems so exciting and interesting to us because it embodies the timeless value and storytelling excellence of Bollywood golden era.

Bollywood has turned sour.

Almost all the stars we see now have PR teams that support and hold them back. There are no word slips, and no videos are uploaded without a team of people approving them.

There is no longer a connection we feel. Everything is manufactured to our liking, yet the fact that it is processed before we receive it makes it unlikable.

Most stars we see in big-budget films are nepo kids who have had a long history of flops and have been clearly rejected by the audience, yet, due to their influence and connections, they are handed off project after project, causing fatigue to the audience.

Talented actors often struggle to transition from small-screen and OTT platforms to big-budget films, only to face repeated failures, often attributed to nepotism. 

Bollywood has sadly turned sour on its own audience. Sequels of legendary films are made just to be ruined at the hands of directors and actors. Remixes of songs that do not need any new additions are made to appeal to the audience. There is really no creativity or originality left for the general mass to appreciate, which is why films like Dhurandhar are praised and watched heavily. 

The golden past

There was a time when superstars existed. Pan-India artists existed who weren't just figures of violent and massy films.

Films were made for the art of it. Scripts were written by men and women who specialise in the beauty of language. Songs were written by writers like Gulzar sahab, who made even the most irrelevant words sound emotional.

Actors were just actors. They worked on films and worked hard for their craft. They weren't treated as gods but as part of a crew. No fancy vanity vans were requested; no over-the-top accommodations were made.

The commercialisation of films has ruined the art behind them. It has stopped the flow of creativity with producers running after money. Actors are paid unreasonable sums, while scriptwriters are paid nothing.

The disappointing run of Bollywood has ruined the viewing experience for the general audience, who have switched to industries such as Malayalam cinema in the hope of finding credible work.

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Nostalgia for past films holds our memories together and seems much more prominent than the money-hungry Bollywood currently is. The past feels secure and comfortable to us, as we know what we are bound to see. There are no expectations involved. Bollywood in the past seemed fresh and new, and now, after years of marinating, it has become so flavorful to us that we can’t let it go. We try to relive those viewing experiences and helplessly indulge in the nostalgia.

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