Tamil films refrain from pan-India ambitions

Unlike the Telugu film industry, which has enjoyed much success in the Hindi-speaking belt, Tamil cinema has refrained from pan-India ambitions, as seen in the poor box office haul of Kamal Haasan’s latest Indian 2Entertainment industry experts say that Tamil film studios make no effort to promote their films in the North, despite dubbing them in Hindi, and top actors are mostly not available for marketing. Moreover, the cultural ethos of Tamil films remains strong, unlike Telugu films, where actors dress and act much more like Hindi film actors.

Other than Tracing paper 2898 AD who earned close to ₹290 crore for the Hindi version alone, other Telugu films that gained popularity in recent years include RRR ( ₹274.31 crore) and Pushpa: Growth-Part One ( ₹108.26 crore). In comparison, Kamal Haasan’s latest Tamil film Indian 2 he did ₹3.65 crore for its Hindi dubbed version, while its last release Vikram he earned ₹6.64 crore. Another Tamil film Varisin which Vijay plays the lead role, it was reported ₹9.39 crore after its release last year.

“Telugu cinema has spread its nets wide and has made a conscious effort to appeal to every section of the audience it has cultivated across the Hindi heartland and states like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Tamil cinema, on the other hand, remains rooted in a certain cultural ethos and sensibility,” says independent distributor and exhibitor Akshaye Rathi. Tamil film directors and actors continue to be interested in characters who dress up and act in a way that is familiar to audiences in their home state. “Big stars like Vijay and Ajith don’t really come to promote their films in north India or see active marketing campaigns for a period of time. The Tamil industry has extraordinary talent, but it needs to put in the effort to get a proportionate impact,” Rathi explained.

Marketing and promotions

Trade experts like Rathi say the poor marketing and promotion efforts of the Tamil industry are also reflected in the way Hindi films are released in the South. While actors are barely available for media interaction or other engagements in the four southern states, many films fail to resonate with mass audiences there as well. This explains why few Hindi films do impressive business in the southern states.

Independent film exhibitor Vishek Chauhan agreed that Telugu cinema is much closer to Hindi sensibilities and Tamil films have traditionally not found favour in the north. “The last big Tamil hit (in the Hindi belt) was Rajinikanth’s 2.0 and Mani Ratnam Ponniyin Selvan-1 saw some traction. But apart from that, Tamil films have not had any success here. The intention to release and launch a film in Hindi is much stronger among Telugu filmmakers. In the case of Tamil cinema, it is just an afterthought,” Chauhan said.

Of course, increasing revenues in new markets can help increase the scale and budgets of films shot in specific languages. Buoyed by the success of films like Bahubali, Pushpa AND RRRTelugu filmmakers are trying to make bigger films, with the assurance of profits from new territories. Budget Tracing Papersfor example, it is estimated to be more than ₹600 crore. On the other hand, the Tamil industry is said to still spend a significant chunk of its production budgets on star fees.

“Telugu films are getting regular releases, so they have managed to develop some loyalty among the audience. It may not make sense for smaller theatres in the Hindi belt to screen Tamil films as their stars have not gained popularity here and rebuilding is quite difficult. So, it may not be a good idea to give them prime time and get fooled by other distributors,” said Pranav Garg, managing director of Maya Palace, a two-screen theatre in Muzaffarnagar.