While the films to break out in India in 2022 were undoubtedly southern films, IMDB’s list of the 10 most successful Indian films (total number of films worldwide) had four films from the Hindi film industry. .
still from kantara
“Can Bollywood withstand the ‘invasion’ of the South?”
“South Indian cinema tells our story. Bollywood is too awakened!”
“Abu Bas South Ki Film Challenge!” (Currently, only South Film appears!)
“Isn’t Bollywood over after the South’s ‘onslaught’?”
These are the kind of remarks and questions that, as a filmmaker with Indian ties, regularly throw at me wherever I am in London. What’s the talk about South taking over Bollywood? Is it really accurate to say that South Indian cinema is staggeringly better than Hindi cinema? Let’s burst some bubbles.
Among the IMDB list of 10 most successful Indian films (gross worldwide) in 2022, one is the Telugu film industry (RRR), two from the Kannada film industry (KGFMore 2 When Cantara), three Tamil films (PS1, Vikram, Beast), and four Hindi film industries (Kashmir File, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2, Brahmastra Part 1: Shiva When drisham 2).
four. Yes, that’s true, but you have to be careful. The movies to break out in India in 2022 definitely came from the South.Blockbuster KGF Chapter 2 (from Kannada Industry) and RRR It is one of the top 50 films in the world for 2022 with a total worldwide gross revenue of over 100 crore (from the Telugu industry).even low budget Cantara (again Kannada) scored INR400 crore. But like Bollywood, southern cinema has had similar disasters.
reality check
for all KGF2 Also RRRthere are plenty of films from the South that haven’t even momentarily touched the global radar.
In the Bollywood vs. South cinema dichotomy, “South Indian cinema” actually consists of four different film industries: Tamil or Kollywood, Telugu or Tollywood, Kannada or Sandalwood, and Malayalam or Molywood. The fact that there is is lost in the translation. It’s a bit unfair to put four equally capable film industries in the South together against the Hindi film industry.
In a recent conversation with Indian film trade expert Atul Mohan, I agreed with figures that, like Bollywood, South Indian films have more failures than hits. The perception that “all South Indian films are great” is deeply ingrained in the psyche of audiences these days. In fact, even in the South, the percentage of hit movies hasn’t seen a big surge. He remains below 10% as before,” Atul said.
hit and miss
To be fair, last year belonged to the Kannada film industry. KGF Chapter 2 When Cantara They were two of the biggest blockbusters, not only in Sandalwood, but in the entire film industry.
But these are just two of the 202 Kannada films released last year. The profits of his remaining 200 films were nowhere near those of his two blockbusters. Did someone say that the Kannada film industry is dying?
I agree that the post-Covid phase and the rise of OTT have changed movie-watching habits dramatically. It could drive you to the theater.
movies like KGF Chapter 2, RRR When Pushpa Capturing scale, discovering pan-Indian connectivity and breaking down regional and linguistic barriers.Karan Johar brahmastra Although not at the level of , it also achieved it. KGF2 Also RRRBollywood has been repeatedly badged with the names of catastrophes such as Samrat Prithviraj, Shamsherah When Lal Singh Chadda But like expensive star cars from the south Lade Sham, Liger, Godfather, Cobra, Monster When mahran Bombing in 2022 forgets to construct a one-sided narrative.
perception game
Bollywood seems to be losing not only its box office but also its perception game. How, when, and how did perceptions tilt in favor of the ‘dominance’ narrative of Southern cinema?No, the answer is that Black He who suddenly began with the enormous success of SS Rajamouli. It’s not a swan event. Baahubali: The Beginning (2015).
dubbed versions of his previous two blockbusters Magadira (2009) and Ega (Mahhi in Hindi in 2012) has garnered significant TV viewership and built an avid Hindi-speaking audience base long ago. Baahubali: The Beginning (2015).
Hindi audiences have finally discovered South Indian cinema. Not only television, single-screen theaters in North India, which had struggled for survival with the advent of multiplexes for the past 15 years, showed these ‘southern action movies’ dubbed in Hindi. Affordable print costs suited them and kept audiences engaged.
There is no “sudden revolution”
It was a quiet but long and steady march into the Hindi Heartland, not the “sudden revolution” as it is projected. Finally!) is the rise of “Indian cinema”.Al Arjun today Pushpa like a hindi movie brahmastra It’s a Tamil movie as ShahRukh’s pattern It’s Telugu.
RRR Oscar not as a Telugu film For perhaps the first time in Indian cinema, the barriers of language, region and stardom have finally been shattered. Our films expand beyond Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada or Malayalam. Finally, there is what can truly be called “Indian cinema”.
