It is finally time to pay for those who had bet that cinema halls would not survive Covid. Online apps caused an outcry, sure, but the crowds made a comeback in theaters. A large number of seats are being sold at the box office since January. All India ticket sales are higher than the monthly average in a report by Group M and Ormax Media 1,000 crore in the first four months of 2022. If the excitement of watching the movie that we have seen so far is maintained, then this year will see record revenue. Our blockbuster films were led by a multilingual wave of South Indian films, the Hindi versions of which helped drive viewership across the country. According to the report’s data, such re-dubs for Hindi films accounted for more than half of the influx in this period. On the list of top grossers is Prashanth Neel’s Kannada period drama KGF: Chapter 2, which released in five languages, followed by SS Rajamouli’s Raj-era Telugu potboiler RRR, which has been dubbed in four. In contrast, Bollywood has had only two top-five hits in terms of revenue, Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s biopic Gangubai Kathiawadi and Vivek Agnihotri’s alleged real story, The Kashmir Files, both of which together accounted for nearly a quarter of the top two’s total. . Since these are all set in earlier times, it is tempting to look to the distant past as the subject of a change in demand after the Indian Hall reopens. Instead, what seems to leap off the screen is the theatrical success of Southern cinema.
As best-selling movies are viewed by analysts on open and hand-held screens, anyone who’s seen Southern cinema’s over-the-top action and gold-adorned goons should be served the humble pie with popcorn. It’s not all about the heroes either, as in Salman Khan’s analysis. Consider the innovation of technology in Radhakrishnan Parthiban’s Irawin Nijal, a 100-minute Tamil thriller shot in a single shot that became the talk of Cannes at the latest festival in the art-house land. Southern films are diverse, as is expected of filmmakers releasing many more films than Mumbai’s Hindi industry. It is clear that an overdose of testosterone mixed with adrenaline is still the key to mass market appeal, and while Bollywood is steeped in romance and subtle drama for multiplex-goers, Southern cinema has sought to enhance that mix. Most digital tools have been created for Rajamouli’s films, for example, are mostly cast as grand spectacles, with animation enabling hyperbolic storytelling in the way that we associate with our age-old gimmicky narrative style. In a village square, there will be hand-crafted props to depict the hero in a tug of war with a tiger; Today’s software does.
We have a huge market for stories aided by digitally exaggerated theatrics and metaverse locales. In addition, Southern cinema has shown readings close to the popular pulse, at least in the genre of ‘escape’ films, which reel in the big bucks. But is this a sign for Bollywood? Many of its recent money-makers are similar in their aesthetics, sacrificing subtlety for the in-your-face depiction. Still, let’s face it: Hindi fare will lose its vitality if the box-office chase takes it away from the eclectic sensibility it has long retained, especially in romantic soundtracks. No doubt, there is a lot to learn from market trends. In adapting to them, he must make a move he was once a master at: being everything to all people. Full-spectrum cinema has had its creative edge as talkies let us do the talking. As the linguistic barriers drop, he must open his ears wide enough to regain his eyes.