The Southern Indian Movies Winning On Bollywood's Turf

Last week, KGF 2, a Kannada movie dubbed into other languages, was released on 4,500 screens across India - a number usually reserved for Bollywood superstars such as Salman Khan.

After a spectacular opening, the film - the sequel to a striking 2018 hit about a gangster who fights to take over a gold mine - looks set to become one of India's biggest box-office hits.

The Telugu-language blockbuster RRR, which is still drawing crowds in northern Indian theatres, preceded KGF 2.

A couple of months ago, another Telugu flick, Pushpa, performed well with the Hindi audience before streaming online - since then, its dialogues and songs have sparked hundreds of Instagram reels.

Over decades, many filmmakers have attempted to make "pan-Indian" movies that appeal to audiences across the nation - a major challenge considering India's diversity of languages and cultures. Like Tamil directors Mani Ratnam and Shankar, some succeeded once in a while with films that addressed larger, "national" anxieties, dramatic love stories, or grand productions featuring big stars.

Bollywood movies had bigger budgets as they were aimed at a larger audience - Hindi is the most widely spoken language in India. In comparison, movies in other languages didn't have that much appetite for risk.

Now, the back-to-back success of KGF 2, RRR, and Pushpa - seven years after Telugu blockbuster Baahubali opened the doors - has given new hope.

"The industries in the south are making fantastic films, and it's wonderful that they are reaching new audiences. I think that this cross-pollination between industries is only going to help Indian cinema move ahead," media specialist Vanita Kohli-Khandekar says

Bollywood's biggest hit this year is Kashmir Files, a controversial movie on the exodus of Hindus from Kashmir backed by right-wing politicians, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In the past decade, the industry has also shifted from an overt reliance on its big three superstars - Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan, and Salman Khan. Actresses such as Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt and industry outsiders like Ayushmann Khurrana and Rajkumar Rao regularly headline movies with strong scripts.

Trade analyst Komal Nahta thinks Bollywood's audiences still love the big blockbuster. It's just that southern industries are making them with better scripts and slicker visuals.

"I think Hindi cinema got lazy in its rendition of the big, commercial film. They became too reliant on the stars. But the manna from heaven arrives only when you put a great star with a great script," Ms. Chopra says.

"The Telugu and Tamil population abroad is also a sizable market. All this has contributed to films being produced with bigger budgets," Ms. Dundoo says.

However, she points out that not all ambitious crossover films can work, as the recent failure of Prabhas-starrer Radhe Shyam shows.

Though their budgets are usually smaller, the Tamil and Malayalam film industries also have a new crop of promising filmmakers, indicating that viewers will continue to be spoilt for choice, especially those with access to streaming platforms.