Regional cinema goes mainstream as Bollywood lags

If one takes into account the latest statistics on box office collections, this seems to be an unambiguous trend. According to the latest FICCI-EY report, in the past three years, the box office collections (gross) of regional films have gone up to Rs 5,300 crore in 2022 from Rs 4,000 crore in 2019. In the same period, collections (gross) of Hindi films have fallen to Rs 3,500 crore in 2022 from Rs 5,200 crore in 2019.

Even as a percentage of the total box office collections (gross), regional films have trumped Hindi films. In the past three years, the share of regional films as a percentage of total box collections (gross) has gone up close to 42% in 2022 from about 30% in 2019. In the same period, the share of Hindi films as a percentage of total box collections (gross) has fallen close to 28% in 2022 from close to 39% in 2019.

Ameya Naik, founder-Fantasy Events, an event management company, said, “Regional or especially south Indian films have excelled on two fronts. They tell universal stories which conform to the grammar of the Masala (medley of genres) genre with utmost conviction and commitment. Besides this, they have been able to create personal and culture-and-region-specific films with equal brilliance and charm.”

He said, “In the Hindi film industry, there are directors who specialise in genres. We don’t have directors who can make a proper Masala film which would amalgamate genres such as drama, action, tragedy, music and scale and make entertaining pan-India films. I think director Subhash Ghai was the last of the lot. Even the so-called personal stories in Hindi films are not connecting with the pan-India audience. In essence, the Hindi film industry is making films based on dictates of producers rather than the singular vision of directors.”

This changed pattern in film viewing is more pronounced when one takes into account the contribution of Hindi dubbed collections to the total box office collection of south Indian films. For instance, 52% of the total collection of the Kannada film KGF: Chapter 2 came from the Hindi dubbed version of the film.

An analyst, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “It is estimated that 50% of viewers of regional films on streaming platforms are outside their home state. This shows the increasing acceptance of non-Hindi films. This is despite the fact that the number of Hindi films released in the past few years has increased dramatically.” He added, “In the next three years, the consumption of regional content on television and streaming platforms is likely to increase to 61% and 50% from 54% and 30%, respectively, in 2020.”