Vidhu Vinod Chopra abuses content creators; Casting process at IFFI Goa 2025 criticized
During his IFFI Masterclass, filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra strongly attacked social media influencers, questioning their talent and branding power, while criticizing casting directors for prioritizing digital followers over real dedication to the craft.
Filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra recently took a dig at social media influencers while speaking at a masterclass session during the 54th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa. She directly criticized influencers and challenged casting directors to include social media involvement in their selection process.
The filmmaker expressed his contempt using highly critical language: “What word can I use? C*****a, he goes on the net and stands like this… 5 million has been reached. Well it stands, it will become 10 million, it will become 20 million (What word can I use? These are a***. They go on the internet, and stand a certain way. Someone has 5 million followers, someone has 10 million, someone has 20 million).”
Chopra insisted, “He feels that he is the father and the brands go to that fellow and the father has come and sold our product and he stands up again.…What the fuck is going on? (The social media influencer thinks he’s a legend. And then brands go up to that person and say, ‘Please sell our product’. The influencer stands up again and says, ‘Hey, buy this tiffin. Buy whatever.’) As a person you have to choose whether you want to be that or whether you want to truly strive for happiness and joy.”
IFFI Goa, 2025, which began from November 20 to 28, 2025, showcases a diverse selection of over 240 films from 81 countries. It will include 13 world premieres, 4 international premieres and 46 Asian premieres. The event highlights India’s growing stature in the global film community, with a record-breaking 2,314 submissions received from 127 countries.
Late actor Dharmendra will also be honored in the closing ceremony of the festival. Meanwhile, a special screening of the classic film took place cinder Has been canceled due to technical reasons.
