South remakes in Bollywood that failed to hit the mark

South Indian remakes continue to entice audiences as they return to the theatres to witness expensive Bollywood films. Movies with a lot of content but also a lot of general appeal, like Manichitrathazhu (1993) in Malayalam which was remade into Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007), and Singam (2010) in Tamil which was remade into Singham (2011), have long served as models for successful Bollywood remakes of South Indian films. As a result of franchise hits like these acquiring much-needed renown, film critics continue to advocate remakes of popular South Indian films starring Bollywood superstars. The fundamental appeal of a successful South Indian film is a strong and well-liked narrative, along with the star power of the leads. Bollywood has attempted to imitate this look and adapt the plot of these movies in an effort to gain popularity throughout India. With a few hits and misses, the method appears to have been effective so far.

These popular regional films have a high recall value, which Bollywood producers love to capitalise on, but there also appears to be a change in viewer expectations. It has been noted that instead of the tried-and-true remake formula, the general public today prefers something new and intriguing. All things considered, however, several Bollywood remakes like Wanted, Hera Pheri, and Singham have been some of the biggest successes of performers with immense star power like Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, and Ajay Devgn, and these are still avidly watched on OTT.

Pushpa: The Rise, starring Allu Arjun, premiered in theatres in December 2021 and quickly became a huge success in Hindi markets all over the world. The North Belt was soon rocked by a deluge of Hindi remakes of South films. With the exception of Drishyam 2, many of the remakes failed to live up to the success of the original South movies. Several producers from the Hindi film business have acquired the rights to popular films produced in the Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam film industries throughout the years.