Except for the top Telugu stars, there is no demand for mid-range Telugu actors and their films in other Indian markets. While our producers and stars project every other picture as a pan-Indian project, and actors like Nani have been touring many cities to promote their movies for multiple-language versions, the money from the other languages is completely nil.
The latest example is “Thandel”, which was released in five languages. While the film’s Telugu version has made impressive money so far, the Tamil and Hindi versions have contributed to its overall gross almost zero.
Nani has been promoting every movie in all languages. He has gained some market in Tamil with films like “Dasara” and “Saripodhaa Sanivaaram,” which did collect impressive revenue for the Tamil version. But all his films, including “Dasara,” “Hi Nanna,” and “Saripodhaa Sanivaaram,” grossed negligible revenue in Hindi hinterland.
Thandel: Rs 12 lakhs gross from Hindi and Rs 10 Lakhs from Tamil
Daaku Maharaaj: Hindi version – Rs 37 Lakhs Tamil: Rs 8 lakhs
Saripodhaa Sanivaaram: Rs 50 lakhs for Hindi, Tamil: Rs 3 Cr, Rs 6 lakhs for Malayalam
Compared to “Pushpa” and “Kalki 2898 AD”, NTR’s “Devara” was not as successful in other languages, although it grossed approximately Rs 70 crore in Hindi alone and performed well in Tamil. Overall, the “Devara” team’s efforts for Pan-India are justifiable. If director Koratala Siva had made this film more captivating, it could have become a genuine pan-Indian hit.
“Game Changer” grossed approximately Rs 50 crore from Hindi, Tamil, and Malayalam versions together. Given the underperformance of the film in Telugu, it is understandable that the film failed in other languages as well. Given these considerations, established superstars such as Prabhas, Allu Arjun, NTR, and Ram Charan should continue with their pan-Indian and global release plans to further boost their market.
However, mid-range and budding talents should reconsider their pursuit of pan-Indian marketing. They should first determine whether their content is sufficient to reach larger audiences or regional audiences. They should push only films for the Pan-Indian market that have strong material, instead of releasing every other movie in all languages.
