South films taking over Indian cinema? Film trade experts say ‘High time that Bollywood wakes up’

South Indian movies are not just minting moolah in their home markets but they are also having a successful run in theatres across the country. Be it Tamil, Telugu, Kannada or Malayalam films, all of them have found an audience in the Hindi belt as well. This trend of regional movies working pan India has seen an upward trend after theatres reopened in October following a nationwide lockdown due to coronavirus. And, now with the release of Vijay’s Beast and Yash’s KGF Chapter 2, more footfalls are expected in theatres than any recent Bollywood movie.
Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, who has delivered several super hits, is unable to fathom why Hindi films do not attract as much audience in the south as south films do in the North. Film trade analyst Taran Adarsh has an answer. He believes the credit for the success of regional cinema goes to the ‘wholesome entertainment’ that they provide. Commenting on the trend of south films dominating the box office, he asserted, “These films offer wholesome entertainment and at the same time, they are pushing the envelope.”
KGF 2 is a huge hit at the box office. (Photo: Hombale Films/YouTube)
KGF 2 actor Yash believes this shift hasn’t happened overnight. The audience in the north has taken its own sweet time in familiarising itself with the style of storytelling of south filmmakers. In an interview with Bollywood Life, the actor said, “What worked today is people got familiar with our way of storytelling, our cinema, so it has not happened overnight. That is been there for a few years and eventually, they started understanding the content, the expression of the direction and everything. And then we got a straight instant connect with Baahubali, SS Rajamouli sir, Prabhas they took that initiative followed KGF- it also entered with a commercial angle.”

The actor also feels a lot of it is to do with relatability. Taran Adarsh agreed and said, “Hindi films are not interested beyond the Bandra to Versova crowd. What about the rest of India? What happens to those who are thirsting for wholesome entertainment? It is high time that Bollywood people wake up.” The trade expert feels the country still has takers for ‘larger than life films’ if they are given “the right emotion and story.”
RRR earned Rs 1000 crore worldwide.  (Photo: DVV Entertainment)
Echoing a similar sentiment, film trade analyst Akshaye Rathi said, “The Hindi film fraternity really needs to pull up its socks so that the largest potential audience is not intellectually alienated.” He strongly believes that Hindi filmmakers, who have earlier delivered mega-blockbusters such as Sooryavanshi, Tiger Zinda Hai, Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Dangal, have the potential to create cinema for the audience across the nation.

Post pandemic, Allu Arjun’s Pushpa: The Rise minted Rs 108.26 crore (Hindi version), without any promotion. Later, SS Rajamouli’s RRR took the box office storm and earned Rs 240.79 crore (Hindi version) and over Rs 1000 crore worldwide. KGF 2 has started its journey at the box office on a high note with the first-day collection of Rs 134.5 crore in India.
Film producer and trade expert Girish Johar concluded, “We really need to introspect that these films are not just working, they are working without any humongous promotion strategy. It is a concentrated effort on a different level.”