3 minutes of readingBombayJanuary 31, 2026 1:18 PM IST
In recent years, there has been growing debate about how Doom Scrolling has affected attention spans, with many suggesting that people I no longer have the patience for long-form entertainment.. Some even cite it as one of the reasons why Bollywood is going through a downward spiral, as audiences seem less inclined to watch movies. However, Shahid Kapoor, who is gearing up for the release of his upcoming film O’Romeo, recently spoke at length about the same, but added that the current problems of the film industry cannot be attributed to “low attention span” alone.
In a conversation with Prakhar Gupta on his YouTube channel, he said, “Look, the candle is burning at both ends. The audience is losing patience; their minds can’t concentrate. They need stimulation, they need breaks, because it’s a dopamine hit. Creators are doing the same thing with themselves, so when they try to concentrate and work, their ability to create is compromised. It’s not that audiences don’t want to watch films; it’s also that we’re not making as many good films.” like “We should. So it’s a two-way process.”
Shahid also weighed in on another challenge that has plagued the industry for some time: marketing of manufactured products. He explained: “People don’t understand it, but it’s a miracle of life. Having a room full of people applaud, whistle and recognize you, giving you a status above their own, is a very beautiful thing. That’s why art is special. But when that purity starts to alter and something manufactured comes into play, it doesn’t feel the same anymore.”
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He added: “Marketing is something that everyone has to do, you have to do it, I have to do it. But when does marketing cross the line between right and wrong? How much is too much? That really comes from your own sense of morality. If you choose to work from that place, it’s different. But if you only work for business and numbers, then that’s just business and numbers, and that’s your life experience.” On authenticity in art, Shahid said, “If you are looking for something authentic, human and spontaneous, then you should let it happen. Don’t try to control it.”
Recently Shahid also spoke openly about nepotism and He clarified that being the son of actor Pankaj Kapur did not give him any advantage: “People think I’m an actor because I’m Pankaj Kapur’s son, but my parents separated when I was just three years old. I didn’t spend much time with my father, so no one knew I was his son, nor did I ever use his name. I lived with my mother. Things just fell into place for me. I never asked my father for help, and he never made calls to get me work,” he told the Punjab First Voice podcast.