Of late, Hollywood films have been doing exceedingly well in India, but Covid-19 crisis is likely to bring things to a halt this year
Prashant Singh (HINDUSTAN TIMES; May 7, 2020)

With shuttered theatres all over the world and millions of people staying at home, the movie business is feeling the heat of the Coronavirus pandemic; and that, too, when summer blockbusters should ideally have been the buzzword. The same holds true for Hollywood business in India, which was on a potent ascent in the country for the past four-five years. Last year, in fact, Hollywood films earned over ₹1,220 crore in India. The corresponding figures for 2017 and 2018 were around ₹850 crore and ₹950 crore, respectively. So, has the lockdown jolted Hollywood’s rise in India?

“With March quarter gone, and the next quarter also looking in doubt, it’s a tough period for everyone, including Hollywood. But don’t write 2020 off yet. If theatres can open around August-September, we will have the last quarter (October-December), which is the big festive period,” says exhibitor-distributor Akshaye Rathi, who “strongly believes” that regardless of what happens this year, 2021 will be an “astoundingly blockbuster” year thanks to “pent-up demand among people”.

Hollywood biggies would surely hope so, considering that last year, India got its highest Hollywood grosser of all time — Avengers: Endgame (earning close to ₹374 crore). Then, The Lion King made ₹158 crore, becoming one of the the highest Hollywood grossers in India. Joker earned ₹68 crore, despite an adult rating and no dubbed versions. But Hollywood won’t have it easy, thanks to a number of Hindi biggies waiting in line and limited release windows. “It’s going to be a tough fight at the box office. Hollywood films will have to contend with not just Hindi films but also a barrage of biggies down south, too. So, it looks unlikely that the Hollywood business can be as big this year as it has been in the past few years,” says trade analyst Taran Adarsh.

Although a biggie such as the Vin Diesel-starrer Fast & Furious 9 has been pushed to next year, other much-anticipated films such as No Time To Die, Mulan, Black Widow, Free Guy, Top Gun: Maverick, Wonder Woman 1984, Tenet and The French Dispatch are still slated for 2020.

“I won’t be surprised if more Hollywood films get postponed to next year because more than 70% of their business comes from overseas markets such as China and, of late, India, too. And whenever theatres re-open in India, I am sure Hindi films will get priority. So, Hollywood has surely taken a big hit,” says filmmaker Sanjay Gupta.
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Indian numbers talk@2019

Avengers: Endgame: ₹374 crore

The Lion King: ₹158 crore

Spider-Man: Far From Home: ₹86 crore

Captain Marvel: ₹84 crore

Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw: ₹76 crore

(All figures based on industry estimates)

Hollywood box office collections in India in 2019: ₹1,220 crore

Shreya Mukherjee (HINDUSTAN TIMES; November 18, 2019)

Hollywood films continue to vie for a bigger share of pie at the Indian box office. In a bid to attract more eyeballs, they are roping Bollywood biggies such as Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan to lend a desi touch in the dubbed versions.

The effort is only getting more personalised, with region-specific stars dubbing for projects in different languages, and actors also being voice cast with their children or siblings in sync with the onscreen relationships.

Sample Priyanka and her cousin Parineeti Chopra as sisters Elsa and Anna in Frozen 2; Shruti Haasan and Divya Darshini for the film’s Tamil version; Aishwarya as Maleficent in Maleficent 2; Shah Rukh and son Aryan Khan as father-son duo Mufasa and Simba in The Lion King, Rana Daggubati as Thanos in the Telugu version of Avengers: Endgame, and Sanya Malhotra and Siddhant Chaturvedi as Molly and Henry for Men In Black: International (MIB).

Why rope in such names? The idea is to make the audience feel “it has been specially curated for them in a language they understand and relate to”, says Bikram Duggal, head of studio entertainment at Disney India, the studio behind films such as Frozen 2, The Lion King and Maleficent 2.

Having home-grown stars also helps in better film promotions. “Most Indian actors have huge social media following, and by dubbing for a film, those who have lent their voice for the film, also aggressively promote it on their social media platforms. The Lion King is a recent example wherein SRK and Aryan not only enhanced the film’s marketing profile, but also added an excellent new marketing peg with SRK working with his son again,” says Kamal Gianchandani, CEO, PVR Pictures.

Does having a star onboard help? Duggal feels so. He says that the desi touch spikes the “viewership” of the Indian release. Where earlier the English and the dubbed versions had almost an equal viewership, now the ratio of audience watching English and dubbed version is almost 30:70, he says.

Agrees Vivek Krishnani, managing director, Sony Pictures Entertainment India, saying, “We saw a good 40 percent plus contribution from the Hindi MIB and Angry Birds 2.”

Meanwhile, actors are happy exploring the trend. While Sanya hopes she gets another opportunity, Parineeti says, “I was missing Mimi didi (Priyanka) while dubbing because I felt like I was seeing her and me on screen together… We always would talk about working together one day but we never got any opportunity till this happened.”

When actors are voice cast for dubs, the suitability of their voice and persona are kept in mind. “We got Kajol for Elastigirl in Incredibles 2 because we were looking at popular working mothers in their 30s and 40s,” explains Duggal. Gianchandani feels this is just the beginning, and the trend is set to grow. However, having a big star is no guarantee that it will work, says trade analyst Joginder Tuteja. He points out, “Maleficent didn’t do that well (at the box office).”

The Hindi version of The Lion King is as entertaining as the English one. The voiceover artists have done their best but first, kudos to writer Mayur Puri. Writing a dubbed script of a Hollywood film that will be seen by millions is no easy job and Mayur does his work quite well. A few funny dialogues of the hyenas didn’t make the desired impact. But there are places where the goings-on turn out to be funnier. Mayur Puri incorporates Asrani’ ‘Haha’ bit and tapori-type language in the case of Timon and Pumbaa and it raised lot of laughs in the theatre! Coming to the actors, Shah Rukh Khan is the ideal choice and sounds like a father-figure completely. Aryan Khan is a surprise and he especially rocks in the climax. The way he speaks with a tone of anger is great and it’ll be fun to see him later on in an angry young man avatar! A crucial scene where both the father and son communicate gives goosebumpbs! Ashish Vidyarthi is efficient and his singing debut is worth it. Asrani is quite endearing. Shreyas Talpade and Sanjay Mishra contribute a lot to the laughter quotient. Achint Kaur is unrecognizable at first but she is quite menacing as Shenzi. Neha Gargava, popular voice actor, is appropriate for Nala. Shernaz Patel is fine while Shiv Subramaniam is the surprise of the film, voicing Rafiki. All in all, The Lion King’s Hindi version is worth it and should be given a try! Wish at least show of it was showcased in IMAX screens!

My rating - **** out of 5!

The Lion King meets all the expectations and just like The Jungle Book, charms audiences with its effects, grandeur, 3D and of course content. The animated feature had released in 1994 and in the interim, we even saw films like Baahubali and Mohenjo Daro, that had somewhat similar plot lines. Yet, The Lion King succeeds in touching viewers and keeps you hooked till the end. The humour is also well woven. The pace is a bit quick at places in the first half while in the second half, the narrative slows down. But these are minor goofs and overall, the desired impact is made. Voiceover is great for all the principle characters – James Earl Jones, Donald Grover, JD McCrary, Beyoncé, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Billy Eichner, Seth Rogen (perfect choice for Pumbaa), John Oliver and John Kani. All in all, The Lion King is a must-watch fare and shouldn’t be missed in IMAX. Looking forward to watching the Hindi version now, featuring the voices of Shah Rukh Khan and son Aryan!

My rating - **** out of 5!

Dhaval Roy (DNA; July 9, 2019)

Life has come full circle for Armaan Malik in a number of ways this year. To begin with, he is teaming up with Sunidhi Chauhan to sing the Hindi version of Can You Feel the Love Tonight in the upcoming movie, The Lion King, and he recalls opening for her at a concert when he was about 12. “Now, I share vocal duties with her on this. It’s crazy,” he smiles. Then, 2019 started with him mentoring contestants on The Voice. “I started my journey as a participant on Zee TV’s Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li’l Champs when I was nine; at 23, I was on the other side,” he points out. Incidentally, he is also going to Los Angeles, USA, in the next few days for the world premiere of The Lion King and meeting its director, Jon Favreau. “He also directed the movie Chef and I had a song Tere Mere in the Bollywood adaptation starring Saif Ali Khan. So, yes, it feels like the ‘circle of life’ is complete,” he says, alluding to another track by the same name in The Lion King. “It’s going to be such a huge trip for me,” he says excitedly.

INTERNATIONAL PROJECTS
Armaan has also sung Hakuna Matata in The Lion King. He says that his and the Kamli hitmaker’s westernised vocals were necessary to pull off the tracks in the musical. “I’ve been singing English songs since I was about 14. And these numbers needed someone with a similar background and who could really feel them. Also, The Lion King is such an iconic movie and we’re taking its legacy forward. What’s better than that?” he quips. This is the second international project that Armaan has sung for this year — he also crooned Ek Naye Jahan Mein (A Whole New World) in Aladdin earlier.

SONGS IN BOLLYWOOD, TOO
For Armaan, the year so far has also been great in terms of Bollywood songs as well — Pehla Pyaar in Kabir Singh and Intezari in Article 15 releasing recently. Armaan points out, “One is such a commercially-successful movie and the other, critically acclaimed. As a singer, it’s not just about the songs; projects on a whole are equally important. It makes my discography look better.” He is also gung-ho about singing for Vishal Mishra and Anurag Saikia respectively for the first time.

But singing for various composers isn’t different from lending his voice to his brother Amaal Mallik’s tunes. “Since I was 10, I had been singing with multiple composers before I worked with any of my family members. From that age, I’ve known what a composer demands out of a singer. So, even when it comes to Amaal, it’s not a comfort level kind of a thing. It’s just that he can shout at me if I go wrong (laughs); that is the only familiarity factor.” He further adds that it’s his duty to fulfil what’s expected from him, “I’m completely a composer’s singer,” he states.

WORKING WITH A R RAHMAN
Armaan has worked with the best in the industry, whether Shankar Ehsaan Loy (Bum Bum Bhole in Taare Zameen Par, 2007) or now A R Rahman in 99 Songs. “I kind of pinch myself to even think that I’ve been able to sing not only one but also the second song with Rahman sir,” he enthuses. He tells us that ever since he sang for 2.0 (Mechanical Sundariye), he hoped that ARR would repeat him. “He is the pride of our nation. Just being in the same room as him is such a big thing. And I’m glad that I’m singing for his passion project. I think all the top singers have sung some songs for this movie. I’m excited about that as well.”

MORE ENGLISH MUSIC
Armaan is currently working on a lot of original, non-film singles. “I’ve always wanted to take India to a global level, which is why I have been working on English music as well. For instance, I was the youngest Indian singer to perform at Wembley Stadium in the UK. I’ve been travelling to LA as well as London and will be going across half the globe for these projects,” he tells us. So, while he has Bollywood tracks in the pipeline, he promises to soon reveal what he’s working on. “It’s something that has been my lifelong dream. I didn’t think I’d become a Bollywood singer and it just happened to me. I always wanted to croon in English. So, life is veering me in the direction that I want,” he signs off.