As Pushpa touches Rs. 100 crore in India, experts says Hindi cinema may need to buckle up
Titas Chowdhury (HINDUSTAN TIMES; February 6, 2022)

After making waves at the box office, the Hindi version of Pushpa: The Rise (2021) recently set a new milestone by breaking the Rs. 100-crore barrier. As a slew of pan-Indian productions prepare to hit theatres, questions about whether multilingual films will compete with Hindi films have resurfaced. 

Manish Shah, who holds the Hindi rights of the Allu Arjun starrer says, “South films are going to pose a big threat to Hindi films. The former has been doing much better than Hindi films on satellite. An extension of that is now being reflected in the box office.”

Producer of Ajith-starrer Valimai, Boney Kapoor says, “Their films are high on heroism laced with action, drama and comedy. This helps them reach out to masses.”

Trade analyst Ramesh Bala agrees: “In the last few years, Bollywood has moved towards niche films. Very few movies are made for tier two and three cities, barring the ones headlined by (actors) Salman Khan and Ajay Devgn. While (actor) Aamir Khan makes films for the multiplex audience, (actors) Taapsee Pannu, Rajkummar Rao and Ayushmann Khurrana have a limited reach and their films won’t collect ₹300 crore.”

He adds, “Films like KGF, the Baahubali series, and now Pushpa struck a chord with the Hindi belt as they catered to the mass audience.”

Actor Shruti Haasan says it’s about time “South cinema is accepted as part of the business” and adds, “I saw my dad’s (actor-politician Kamal Haasan) film Indian (1996) and (actor) Rajinikanth sir’s Robot (2010) cut across [borders].”