The digital era has simplified a lot of things. Cinema watching isn’t exactly a chore now even if some of the films might make one feel so. You don’t have to walk to the nearby theatre in the hope that your favourite film has tickets to spare. Everything happens in a few clicks and an OTP. Recently, I decided to go old-school and walk to the theatre and book a ticket directly. A middle-aged woman in her 50s walked up to the same ticketing counter asking if a particular film was running in the theatre. When they replied in the negative, she pulled out a newspaper listing and said the ad said otherwise. Now, this helped in recalibrating the urban audience’s belief that accessibility to cinema is at everyone’s fingertips. When you look at the returns of any big-ticket film, it is clear that the non-urban audience maketh the numbers. However, many times this loyal demographic is forgotten to cater to an audience that is seemingly growing distant from the kind of popcorn entertainment every industry dishes out with mind-boggling consistency. Probably why Allu Arjun, team Pushpa 2: The Rule, and Telugu cinema are changing the game.
Manoj Bajpayee once said that the reason for the success of films like KGF and Pushpa is because the audience are searching for heroes that would tell them all is well, and winning in life will happen even for the ones who have hit rock bottom. This level of aspiration was seen in 1970s and 1980s Indian cinema where the heroes were catering to the masses, who are often overlooked as people whose tastes aren’t ‘refined’ enough. However, that was never the case in South cinema where the biggest of stars redefined the term ‘mass’ and made films that catered to everyone. Even when the characters did unimaginable things that defied all known laws of science, it was still a common man doing it. But there was a chasm between these believers, and their matinee idols.
At the turn of the 2010s, Hindi cinema understood the need to bridge this chasm, but the stars continued to remain inaccessible. Yes, they were there on the billboards, the advertisements, the social media campaigns, and of course, on the big screen. But the ‘opportunity’ to see them in flesh and blood was becoming rare for the non-urban audience.
Tamil filmmaker Hari, the brain behind films like Singam and Saamy, went to the theatres of Tamil Nadu to promote his film, Yaanai. When asked about the reason behind his action, Hari said, “It is important we let the patrons of the theatre know that our films are reaching them. It is important we respect them as an important stakeholder and urge them to come see our films.” This is an important angle to the debate about watching films in theatres vs watching films on OTT. Of course, it can be argued that the makers make money anyway, and why should the OTT watchers be shamed for watching the films legally on a paid subscription. But before all that, there comes the issue of stars appeasing their audience and not alienating them.
This is probably why South cinema, especially Telugu films, which ignited the pan-Indian cinema of today, continues to reap rich benefits from this phenomenon. Even though recent blockbusters of Hindi cinema made a lot of money all across the country, it was for their original Hindi versions. Almost every star didn’t consider all markets as equally important. They might have appeared on podcasts, social media reels, YouTube interviews, and even press interactions in select urban cities. But the returns are there for everyone to see. On the contrary, look at what is happening with the likes of Kalki 2898 AD, Devara Part-1, and the upcoming juggernaut, Pushpa 2.
