In multiplexes outside Tamil Nadu, star-driven big-budget Tamil films have emerged as viable content. This has ended the domination of Bollywood and Hollywood films, with even Telugu films finding slots in multiplexes across the country.
Rest of India (ROI), in trade parlance, is the market that comprises screens in Kerala, Karnataka, Mumbai, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Delhi and a few isolated pockets in the East. This market excludes Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, as Tamil films usually get dubbed into Telugu and released here, or their remake rights sold to Telugu filmmakers.
A new market has also opened up for Tamil cinema on national television, as the masala films, when dubbed into Hindi, are able to fetch high TRP ratings. Last week, for instance, the Hindi dubbing rights for Vijay’s Theri were purchased by a channel’s agent for almost 50 per cent of its Tamil satellite value. In early 2000, a big-budget Tamil film starring Rajinikanth, such as Padaiyappa , had an ROI valuation of around Rs. 2 crore, but today, the theatrical and satellite valuation for such a film in Tamil or Telugu is anywhere between Rs.10 and 15 crore!
Kamal Gianchandani, CEO and chief of strategy at PVR, says, “We see huge potential in southern regional cinema (Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam), as they are able to penetrate non-traditional markets in North and Western India, thanks to subtitling. Last year, one of the biggest grossers was Baahubali ; even a classy film like Mani Ratnam’s O Kadhal Kanmani , when subtitled, did good business in North Indian screens. Across our properties, regional cinema is growing at the rate of 15 per cent every year; this is huge.”
Kerala is now Tamil cinema’s biggest ROI territory, from theatricals alone. After Malayalam, Tamil films collect the highest in the state, followed by Hindi. Last week, the Kerala rights of Vijay’s Theri were sold, if rumours are true, for Rs. 5.6 crore! An industry analyst points out that the cost of procuring the rights for such a film is about the same that goes into making a Malayalam film with stars. Actors like Vijay and Suriya even have dedicated fan clubs that celebrate their releases with cut-outs, banners and palabhishekams .
Interestingly though, films like Kaaka Muttai and Visaranai didn’t do as well in Kerala, as commercial entertainers like Baahubali and I. This could be caused by the huge Tamil migrant labour force employed in Kerala. In fact, Tamil masala films draw huge openings in Kerala, with the top collecting centres being Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Palakkad and Thrissur. Vijay’s Theri is releasing in Kerala on April 14 in as many as 175 screens. To put this in context, Nivin Pauly’s Jacobinte Swargarajyam released in 92 screens on earlier this week! Social media also seems to play a crucial role in spreading the word about Tamil films in Kerala. The present multiplex and theatre renovation boom in the State also owes itself to the freedom given by the government when it comes to the number of shows and ticket pricing.
Meanwhile, in Karnataka, Tamil films are the fourth-largest grossers after Kannada, Hindi and Telugu. Karnataka is also the second-largest market for Tamil films outside the state. 90 per cent of the total Tamil box-office collections in Karnataka come from Bengaluru city and its suburbs, with the remaining 10 per cent coming from the rest of the state, mainly Mysore and Kolar. Salim Mohammad, a film trade consultant, says, “In Karnataka, stars like Rajinikanth and Vijay rule the box office. The market is almost totally Bengaluru-based, with Hindi and Telugu films eating a bigger share of the box-office pie. During the last couple of years, due to stiff competition among buyers, the prices of star-driven Tamil films have gone through the roof. A film like Therihas to get the maximum number of shows and prime showcasing in multiplexes to be profitable.” But as Pawan Kalyan’s Sardaar Gabbar Singh (April 8), Vijay’s Theri (April 14), and Shah Rukh Khan’s Fan (April 15) have all been slated for release within a week, Bengaluru’s multiplex owners are struggling to schedule these films.
Mumbai has also emerged as one of the key collecting centres for Tamil cinema. Ten years ago, Tamil films were being released only in a single screen at Aurora in Matunga, a locality dominated by Tamil inhabitants. Suddenly though, when national media woke up to the scale of Enthiran , Aurora, in 2010, had a 5 a.m. show for the first time, when it showed Rajinikanth’s Enthiran . The show ran to a packed audience. Today, Tamil films get released across almost 30 screens, when subtitled. New-age directors like Karthik Subbaraj, Manikandan and Nalan Kumarasamy have even managed to find non-Tamil audiences for their films. In the northern belt, comprising cities like Delhi, Noida, Chandigarh, Jaipur and Lucknow, Tamil films are being screened in multiplexes in limited shows and have good occupancy during the weekends. Tamil films have truly gone national during the last decade.
