Actress Swara Bhaskar believes formula films have lost their charm as even a Salman Khan movie needs a good story to do well at the box-office.
“Be it 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan' or 'Sultan', Salman is also looking for good stories first. The era of formula films is over. Presence of big stars in a movie no longer guarantees you a hit,” said Bhaskar, who worked with Salman in 'Prem Ratan Dhan Payo'.
“The clear distinction between art and parallel cinema that was there in 70s or 80s is a thing of past now,” said Bhaskar while speaking at the ongoing Indian Languages Festival (ILF) Samanvay.
The actress, best known for her performances in films like 'Raanjhanaa' and 'Nil Battey Sannata', however believes most of the big production houses are still 'playing safe'. “The fact is that still the major chunk of good cinema is being produced by independent producers,” she said, adding that small films, despite good content, sometimes fail to do well as they don't have a proper platform.
“ 'Listen Amaya' was a nice sweet movie. It got really good reviews too by film critics. But just because it was an independent producer's movie,” said Bhaskar.