Are South cinema and actors taking over Bollywood? Here’s what industry experts have to say
India Today
South cinema is done being second-best to Bollywood. Actors Priyamani and Nithya Menen, trade experts Ramesh Bala and Vishek Chauhan share their views on the rise of South cinema and stars.
In this era of OTT and social media, content is king and there are no barriers when it comes to entertainment. Now it seems like the South film Industry will soon overpower Bollywood. Exclusively speaking to IndiaToday.in, actors Priyamani and Nithya Menen, trade experts Ramesh Bala and Vishek Chauhan, shared their opinions on the same.
If you are a Salman Khan fan, you’d remember that Bhaijaan of Bollywood became 'Bhai' through one of his blockbuster films, Wanted. The 2009 film was a remake of the Telugu film Pokiri starring Mahesh Babu. And, it's been quite some time since Bollywood's biggest hits proved to be direct remakes of South films or inspired by them. It looks like South cinema is done being second-best to Bollywood.
We have always heard 'Content is king'. For example, if we talk about Allu Arjun's Pushpa, it had phenomenal content. This is what South cinema offers they have a very unique medium of storytelling. Their films are made with the idea of catering to a large audience.
It's not just the content, even the leading actors choose films which connect with everyone. Be it Telugu stars like Allu Arjun, Prabhas, Mahesh Babu, Jr NTR and Ram Charan, or Tamil actors like Superstar Rajinikanth, Thalapathi Vijay and Ajith people from diverse backgrounds are loving them. Now with increased popularity thanks to social media and OTT, South actors are becoming pan-India stars. After all, paisa wasool entertainment matters to the audience. So at the end of the day, it's not about overtaking, it's about content.
Trade expert Ramesh Bala believes Bollywood has neglected the mass market and that is why there is a sudden demand for South content. He said, "Bollywood has neglected the mass market in the last few years. Films starring Rajkummar Rao, Ayushmann Khurrana, etc. are not going to penetrate the heartland of India. Mass movies definitely do well, but today, how many stars are not doing those films? Even Akshay Kumar is doing films with social messages, like Toilet Ek Prem Katha, or comedy. Now, see Pushpa has item song. It has glamour and action. Salman Khan movies also have a pull for the masses. Aamir Khan's films are very classy. So only a few stars cater to that market.”
He continued, “Whereas South stars invariably cater to all the markets. They do it in a way that they can recover money. A big star in the South can't do a film like Toilet Ek Prem Katha, they have to do films like Beast, Bigil or a Pushpa kind of a film, which have a wider reach. Single screen exhibitors are saying Bollywood has forgotten us. They are making movies for multiplexes now. So, to cater to the pan-Indian audiences, one needs to have a mass film."
Vishek Chauhan, theater owner and trade expert, completely agrees with Ramesh Bala. He said, "There is a gold rush down south right now and that rush is called the North Indian market. The thing is that Bollywood has left a void and, over the years, has become very elite, very niche. It has forgotten its core audiences that made the film industry what it is today. These audiences belong to small towns in India. Bollywood stopped talking to them and dismissed them and no films were targeted there. Once in a while, a Salman Khan or Tiger Shroff film comes. Very few action films would come which would cater to that sensibility and hence you lose your core audiences.”