Major reasons why South Indian films are outperforming Bollywood
What's the story
In the post-pandemic era, many South Indian films that witnessed pan-India releases have dominated theaters, outperforming their Bollywood counterparts. Some of the examples include Yash's KGF: Chapter 2, SS Rajamouli's RRR, and Allu Arjun's Pushpa: The Rise. Meanwhile, Bollywood movies featuring stars like Akshay Kumar and Ranveer Singh have faltered. Let's decode why this is happening and what this exactly means for Bollywood.
Formula
Action blockbusters most likely to succeed
Nearly all South Indian blockbusters have statistically been action-based movies. Put in a mighty hero (women-led movies score high too scarcely), an emotional backstory, and mind-blowing action scenes, and there, you have a success story. Be it Baahubali or Pushpa, this formula has worked. But mainstream Bollywood masala movies follow this formula as well. Then why is the result not the same?
Information
What did Sanjay Dutt say about this?
Earlier, Sanjay Dutt (who was the main antagonist in KGF: Chapter 2) said the success of pan-Indian films is related to their heroic tales. He had shared plans of churning out larger-than-life heroes using his new production company, Three Dimension Motion Pictures, too.
Major plus
Original content is where Southern biggies win
One massive plus for the southern biggies is their original stories. Filmmakers like Rajamouli (RRR) have created entire worlds comprising action, entertainment, romance, and swagger. Most hits also have a moralistic appeal, too. In contrast, Bollywood is infamous for minting remakes of South Indian hits. Now that most/all releases are available in dubbed versions, why would one watch a remake?
Reach
Not everyone understands/likes to watch movies in Hindi!
Speaking of dubbed versions, pan-Indian releases mean that the cinema reaches a wider audience. Contrary to one stand of belief, not everyone understands and enjoys watching films in Hindi. So, this has served as a benefit for Telugu or Tamil releases. They also benefit from world-class production value and original music composition. All of these elements contribute to a film's popularity.
Mass appeal
Rapport of south actors, fans is on different level
Another factor is the humongous devoted fanbase of South Indian actors. The release of films like Beast or Valimai is a festival for Vijay and Ajith fans. In Bollywood, only well-settled names like Kumar, Salman Khan, Ajay Devgn, Shah Rukh Khan, and Aamir Khan enjoy similar star power. The newer stars (like Varun Dhawan and Tiger Shroff) are still looking for that space.
Quote
Trade analyst Taran Adarsh weighs in
"Bollywood is making movies for the suburban Mumbai crowd of Bandra to Versova [both are areas in Mumbai]. What will the rest of India watch?" Taran Adarsh once told a portal. "That space has been taken over by South Indian movies," he rightfully pointed out.