South Indian cinema takes over Bollywood
Three South Indian actors Rajinikanth (Indian Rs100 crores), AR Rahman (Indian Rs 94.8 crores) and Mohanlal (Indian Rs 64.5 crores) were getting paid way more than Bollywood stars in 2019.
Numerous Indian film industry experts believe the country’s cinema in South and its actors are not far from taking over Bollywood though a few assert regional films are already calling the shots if box office revenues are a yardstick to measure the successes in this context.
According to industry estimates, the South Indian film industry (Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada) clocked Indian Rs1,040 crore (equivalent to Pak Rupees 2442.86 crore) as compared to Hindi speaking markets where box office collection had stood at Indian Rs870 crore (Pak Rs2043.61 crore) in 2020, reveals the “Financial Express” in one of its January 2021 editions.
South Indian cinema- Tollywood
According to the “Forbes” magazine, the three South Indian actors Rajinikanth (Indian Rs100 crores), AR Rahman (Indian Rs 94.8 crores) and Mohanlal (Indian Rs 64.5 crores) were getting paid way more than Bollywood stars in 2019.
The “Forbes” had released its 2019 annual Celebrity 100 List. According to which, 13 stars from the South film industry were part of it. In 2019, the total earnings of eight Kollywood (Tamil) superstars, three Tollywood (Telugu) stars and two Mollywood (Malayalam cinema) icons brought in a total of Indian Rs 482.92 crore.
Research shows the Indian cinema produces more than 1,800 movies annually. In 2015, India had a total box office gross of US$2.1 billion, the third largest in the world. The overall revenue of Indian cinema had rested US$2.7 billion in 2019.
Conclusion
By 2020, the combined revenue of all the South film industries (Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam). Had surpassed that of the Hindi film industry. And by 2021, the Telugu cinema had emerged as the largest film industry in terms of box-office. According to media outlets like the Times of India and the Hindustan Times etc. South Indian films, including those in the Tamil and Telugu languages. Would lead box office collections in 2021, with a 50% plus share. Reversing the earlier trend where Hindi films used to lead the pack.
