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Why are Indian films segmentalised on a linguistic basis; What can we expect from Doctor G and Kantara (Hindi)
As South Indian films penetrate into the Hindi speaking belt, we try and understand why there is a definite change in the consumption of prospective viewers.
The North Vs South movie debate is one of the most bizarre discussions to be happening in the country, lately. The underperformance of most Bollywood films and the over performance of quite a few South Indian films, especially outside their home market, is being made to look like battles were being fought to claim which movie industry in India has the most watched films and which movie industry is faltering to form a connect with the audiences. Not just the co-existence, but the Indian Film Industry has always been a melting pot for exchange of ideas, people and resources, irrespective of anything hyped in the media related to pitting different movie industries against one another.
Remaking movies have been going on since the very beginning. It is only now that a fuss has been made out of it, since audiences have got exposure to original content after the OTT revolution. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the digital platforms streaming movies have gained prominence and the reception of theatrical releases has also become extreme. One thing that is clear is that a good chunk of the audience is distancing themselves from remakes, adaptations and niche content. Bollywood, as an industry, has been remaking content left, right and centre and are also known to make films targeting only A-centres. Since Bollywood distanced themselves from audiences in tier 3 and tier 4 cities, the audiences in those cities drifted to other movie options. It started off with television and now it is also penetrating, theatrically. Penetrating is too decent a term since we now live in a time where a dubbed version of a film opens bigger, not just in their own language but also in Hindi. To put things into perspective, the two highest grossing films in the Hindi market are dubbed releases.
This Friday sees the release of Doctor G. Despite starring known faces like Ayushmann Khurrana and Rakul Preet Singh, the film is expected to open lower than the dubbed version of a Kannada film Kantara, which releases on the very same day Doctor G releases on. Not that the films are literally competing with one another but it just shows what alienation of the audience can do to the prospects of a film. Doctor G is an ‘Adult Only’ film since it deals with the troubles of a male gynaecologist. At a time when audiences aren't coming in heaps for movies, an 'A' certificate to the movie only limits the potential and reach. Focus should be on making a variety of universally appealing films which can cater to the large part of the audience. May ammends be made so that the potential viewers who have migrated to other means and options, can consider returning and watching our content.
Also read: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan on North vs South debate: Need to break away from typical thinking
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