The Rise of Pan-India Films
Ethan Devarapalli
Introduction
For decades, Indian cinema has been dominated by Bollywood (movies in the Hindi language). Icons and fine actors like Amitabh Bachchan, the three Khans (Shah Rukh, Aamir, Salman), Dharmendra, Irfan Khan, and many others, are well known by Indian movie fans, and internationally all around the world. There is no questioning how influential Bollywood has been on defining Indian cinema. However, lately and especially since 2015, there has been a shift. Bollywood is no longer the only main contributor to the increasing popularity of Indian cinema, domestically in India and internationally. Indian cinema is quickly becoming what it truly is, rather than a projection of one movie industry with the others being sidekick industries.
Now, in Indian cinema, we are witnessing the rise of “pan-India” films, or films which while originally are made in one or two languages, are dubbed into other major Indian languages. For example, a movie can be made originally in Hindi and then dubbed into other languages like Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, Marathi, or Punjabi. Furthermore, the movie is released simultaneously in all these languages (generally), thus essentially eliminating the need for remakes. The first “pan-India” film was the 1959 film Mahishasura Mardini, which was originally a Kannada film that was dubbed into seven languages, including Hindi and Telugu. Since that period of Indian cinema until 2015, there were rarely any pan-India films or stars, with some exceptions. In general, movies from each industry were popular in that industry only, which were separated by language primarily. For example, there was a famous Telugu actor named N.T Rama Rao, who was known across the country for his acting skills. However, nearly none of his movies were very popular outside of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. In both Telugu states, he was a hero and probably the biggest film star of his time. He even used his stardom to become the Chief Minister (equivalent to state governor) of Andhra Pradesh. However, outside of Andhra, he wasn’t as known for films. Like him, there were other actors who became widely popular within their primary language and industry of work. For example, one of the greatest actors in Bollywood, Amitabh Bachchan, was especially famous for his “angry man” characters in various action movies. He is even internationally known for his acting. However, his extreme popularity did not reach all of India. He is very popular in cities and some villages, but not at a “pan-India” level.
The month is July 2015 and on the night of the 9th, there were two people who felt like they failed: Prabhas and S.S Rajamouli. The first set of reviews were negative. For the first time in his career, S.S Rajamouli may have delivered a flop movie. The Telugu audience was wondering why the main character died; why the betrayal happened. This one question turned out to be the greatest question ever asked in the history of Indian cinema by Indian and international audiences. After that night, Indian cinema changed permanently. Baahubali: The Beginning became the first true “pan-India” movie. Originally filmed in Telugu and partially in Tamil, this movie was dubbed into Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, and other international languages. This movie became one of the biggest blockbusters of all time in Indian cinema, especially up to that point. This movie helped usher in the pan-India movement of films, in a few different ways.
Part 1: The box office
One of the biggest factors in determining the popularity of Indian movies is how much a movie grosses at the box office. Since 2015 and the rise of more big budget films, there has been a noticeable increase in the overall grossing of various Indian films, especially pan-India films.
Graph 1: Highest budget Indian films
In general, the budgets of Indian movies, especially pan-India movies, have been increasing. For example, Kalki 2898 AD, a huge pan-India blockbuster, is the most expensive Indian film ever made. RRR, an international blockbuster, is among the top 3 most expensive Indian films ever made. Both movies have been released in the past 2-3 years, and all the movies on this graph have been released in the past 7-8 years. Budgets for big pan-India movies must be larger than before in order to pay the increasing renumerations for star actors, pay technicians for long production and post-production work, pay for new and better technologies to be used in VFX or other post-production work, and even as tax to keep the movie legal from pre- to post-production and release.
Graph 2: Highest opening Indian Films
Graph 3: Highest Grossing Indian Films since 2015
https://evdevarap.shinyapps.io/ffpgraph3/
The graph above shows the opening gross box office collections for the top 10 Indian films, has been subset for the top 3 film industries in India (Hindi, Telugu, Tamil). It can be seen from this graph that, for example, the top 3 highest opening Telugu films are also the highest opening Indian films of all time in terms of worldwide gross box office collections. All 3 of these movies are pan-India films, which also feature on the top 30 list of most expensive Indian films. Furthermore, all 3 of these films have been released in the past 7 years. The top 3 highest opening Tamil films also feature on that top 30 list of most expensive Indian films. All 3 of these films have been released in the past 6 years. The increasing popularity of these big pan-India films is most clearly seen in box office gross collections, specifically measured by the opening gross of these films. All 9 of these films rank in the highest grossing films of all time within their respective film industries, and in the list of the highest grossing Indian films of all time. For example, RRR, the Indian film with the highest opening day gross of all time, is the 3rd highest grossing Indian film of all time.
Part 2: Pan-India actors and the return of the “angry man”
Indian movies in general are extremely actor-based. More than other Hollywood or films from other industries, Indian movie fans are addicted to their favorite actors. Each major actor has a very sizeable amount of a fan following. When referring to the fanbase each actor has, it is a lot crazier than fans of popular Hollywood actors. For example, Shah Rukh Khan, a very popular Bollywood actor, has hundreds of millions of fans just in India. Like many others, Shah Rukh Khan even has a fan-given name called “Badshah,” which is “king” in Hindi. Other big actors have other names, like how Rajinikanth, a famous Kollywood (Tamil) actor, is called “Super Star.”
Lately with the rise of pan-India films, there has been two specific genres that have seen a rapid growth in box office grossing and popularity. The first is the horror comedy genre, headlined by films like Stree 2 and Bhool Bhulaiya. The second, and more common one, is the action-drama genre. In the 1970s, most of the popular films were action-drama films centered around a masculine male protagonist who was ambitious, hardworking, stubborn, and heroic. This protagonist wasn’t necessarily rich or extremely powerful at the beginning, but the protagonist usually became powerful by the end of the film. These protagonists fit a type of character called the “angry man.” Current pan-India blockbusters, such as KGF 1 & 2 and Pushpa 1 depict this very clearly. Both sets of films contain protagonists who are heroic yet antiheros, ambitious yet not arrogant, and stubborn but not cold. These “angry man” movies, along with other popular action movies like RRR, Baahubali 1 & 2, Salaar Part 1: Ceasefire, Kalki 2898 AD, and Devara Part 1, have been well received by audiences across India. In fact, the “angry man” movies and other action-dramas appeal to most moviegoers in India due to the presence of star heroes, elevating music during action sequences, important camera angles during those action scenes (called “cutouts”), and a riveting saga of how the protagonist wins justice and defeats evil in the end, or how the protagonist will eventually do so in a sequel movie.
Graph 4: Tree maps of highest grossing actors in top 3 languages (hindi, Telugu, Tamil)
Graph 5: scatterplot of Highest Grossing Actors Overall
Subsection: The Telugu film industry
It must be noted that of all the other non-Hindi, or regional, film industries, the Telugu one has experienced the most pan-India success.
Graph 6: Dot plot of Highest Grossing South Indian Films in Hindi Market
Looking at this graph of the top 10 highest grossing South Indian films (in Hindi market), it’s apparent that Telugu movies dominate this list. Other Telugu films which have grossed a sizeable amount in Hindi include Devara: Part 1, Karthikeya 2, Radhe Shyam, and Hanuman. There are a few reasons for the domination of originally Telugu films in the Hindi and overall domestic markets. First, it can be noted from this graph and previous graphs the presence of one actor and one director in particular: Prabhas and SS Rajamouli, in particular. In fact, this was the primary actor-director combination in the first (Baahubali: The Beginning) and biggest (Baahubali 2: The Conclusion) Telugu pan-India films. Most of Prabhas’ subsequent movies (Saaho, Adipurush, Salaar Part 1: Ceasefire, and Kalki 2898 AD) grossed a lot in the Hindi market, cementing him as one of the biggest, if not the biggest, pan-India stars. The next movie directed by SS Rajamouli, RRR, also became a big hit in the Hindi market. RRR was a record-breaking film in many ways, both critically and commercially, which will be discussed later.
A special focus must be given to Pushpa: The Rise as the other standout Telugu film in this graph. When Baahubali: The Beginning released in July 2015, the increasing popularity of the film sent shockwaves throughout all the domestic film industries in India. No one expected that film to be as much of a blockbuster as it was. Similarly, when Pushpa: The Rise released in December 2021, no one expected it to be as big of a blockbuster as it was, especially in the Hindi market. Allu Arjun was well-known and extremely popular in the Telugu film industry, especially for some of his previous films like Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo. He also had some fans in the Hindi and Malayalam film industries. But somehow, Pushpa: The Rise became a sleeper hit in the Hindi market primarily. The movie was already a guaranteed hit in the Telugu market, but as moviegoers in Maharashtra, Haryana, Punjab, West Bengal, and even Kashmir watched the movie, more people were drawn to seeing and hearing Allu Arjun say “Main Jhukega Nahi” (I will not bow). This movie became so famous that Allu Arjun even won a National Award for Best Actor for this film, which had never been done by any actor from the Telugu film industry before him. Currently, the sequel, Pushpa 2: The Rule (releasing on December 5th, 2024) is the most awaited Indian movie and among the most awaited movies worldwide.
Part 3: Online presence
One of the important factors which has contributed to the rise of pan-India films is the increased use of social media and other promotional materials online. It is common for movie songs, teasers, and trailers to be released on YouTube before the movie is released, so that moviegoers can gauge how interesting the movie will be. However, there has been a massive increase in the overall viewership and expectation for such promotional materials, especially for pan-India films.
Graph 7: Sankey Plot of Most Viewed South Indian Movie Trailers in 24 Hours (Split by Actor-Director Relationship)
Looking at this sankey graph of actor-director pairs, and the hover feature showing the trailer views (in millions) within the first 24 hours of its release on YouTube, nearly all of these movies are pan-India movies which have been released in the past 7 years (with the exception of a few of these movies). As more moviegoers are increasingly interested in watching pan-India films as these, the popularity of these pan-India films (at the box office or in awards) continues to increase. It must be noted very importantly that more moviegoers across India and internationally, without restriction to industry or language, are watching these trailers. For example, looking at the trailer views (in millions) for both films starring Pawan Kalyan (Vakeel Saab and Bro) in comparison to the trailer views for Pushpa 2: The Rule starring Allu Arjun, there is a clear difference between the trailer views for Vakeel Saab and Bro in comparison to those of Pushpa 2: The Rule. In the Telugu film industry alone, Pawan Kalyan are comparable star actors with similar fanbases in terms of audience sector, film genres, and fanbase sizes. However, neither Vakeel Saab nor Bro are pan-India films whereas on the other hand, Pushpa 2: The Rule is one of the most awaited pan-India films releasing sometime soon. As more moviegoers in India and internationally become more interested in pan-India films, they show their interest by being even more excited for the promotional materials like songs and trailers.
Part 4: International Reach
A large component of the rise of pan-India films is the increasing popularity of Indian films worldwide. To make this very relevant, the graph below examines the top 36 highest grossing Indian films in North America (US & Canada).
Graph 8: Highest Grossing Indian Films in North America (US & Canada) and Highest Grossing Indian Films Overseas
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note: copy and paste the tableau links directly rather than clicking on
the hyperlink
https://public.tableau.com/views/usagrossfilms/nagross?:language=en-US&publish=yes&:sid=&:redirect=auth&:display_count=n&:origin=viz_share_link
https://public.tableau.com/views/overseasgrossfilms/overseasgross?:language=en-US&publish=yes&:sid=&:redirect=auth&:display_count=n&:origin=viz_share_link
Many Indian films have grossed millions of dollars overseas. In particular, multiple pan-India movies have been successful internationally, especially in North America (US & Canada). Based on the Tableau graphs, the top 2 highest grossing Indian films in North America are both originally Telugu films but are also pan-India films. In fact, all the films which have grossed above $14 million in North America are all pan-India films, even though there are Telugu and Hindi films in that list. Amongst other things seen in this graph, it can be seen that pan-India films aren’t just becoming domestically popular, but also internationally popular. One film in particular, RRR, became internationally renowned after its release in March 2022. RRR has been globally acclaimed for its technical values, direction, soundtrack, and cast performances. The film has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award and an Academy (Oscar) Award for “Best Original Song” for “Naatu Naatu,” the latter of which was the first ever Academy Award ever given to an Indian film. Multiple world-renowned film directors such as James Cameron, JJ Abrams, Steven Spielberg, and the Russo Brothers have lauded the film with praise. It’s reported that after RRR was released on Netflix that Netflix viewership of Indian movies in general has increased, which has in turn, sparked more viewership of other pan-India movies on Netflix and other similar platforms, like for Salaar Part 1: Ceasefire which is also on Netflix.
Part 5: Future thoughts and upcoming pan-India films (by original language)
Here are some upcoming pan-India films, sorted by original language
Telugu: Pushpa 2, Game Changer, Raja Saab, Spirit, Fauji (tenatively called PrabhasHanu), Salaar 2: Shouryaanga Parvam, Kalki 2, Dragon (tenatively called NTRNEEL), Garuda (tenatively titled SSMB29), Jai Hanuman Hindi: Ramayana, Sikander, Brahmastra 2, Brahmastra 3, War 2, Mahavatar, King, Tamil: Coolie, Thalapathy69, Indian 3, Good Bad Ugly, Kubera, Thug Life, Kannada: Toxic, Kantara Chapter 1, Mahavatar Narasimha
The popularity of Indian films will never be the same after that one night in July 2015. Since then, Indian cinema has experienced an unforeseen surge in popularity, viewership, box office collections, and international recognition. This surge started with two people, Prabhas and SS Rajamouli, and these people are also the frontrunners in pan-India actors and directors, respectively. However, the pan-India movement isn’t just restricted to these two people alone. Other actors like Allu Arjun, Teja Sajja, Yash, and Jr NTR have tasted pan-India and worldwide success. Other directors like Prashanth Neel, Lokesh Kanagaraj, Siddharth Anand, and Nag Ashwin have taken their dreams and created beautiful and large-scaled immersions for audiences to be immersed in. Above is a list of upcoming major pan-India films (sorted by original language), with the nearest ones being Pushpa 2: The Rule (starring Allu Arjun) releasing on Thursday, December 5th, 2024, and then Game Changer (starring Ram Charan) releasing on Friday, January 10th, 2025. As directors, actors, and other technicians continue to collaborate all across India, pan-India films will become just Indian films because the days of being separated by a movie’s language are quickly ending. Moviegoers in Manipur will be excited to watch an originally Kannada movie, and moviegoers in Tamil Nadu will be excited to watch an originally Hindi movie. In the near future, it’s only imaginable how increasingly popular Indian films will be domestically and internationally.