Kollywood superstars have found a market in other southern regional languages (Telugu and Malayalam) and made merry at the box-office. And with a plethora of regional satellite channels looking for dubbed content, the market of Tamil superstars have increased in Andhra and Kerala. SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali 1 and 2 changed the equation as they broke box-office records in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Now the reverse of that is taking place. Heroes from other southern languages are trying to carve out a niche in Tamil Nadu where Tamil superstars rule. Giving Tamil superstars a run for their box-office gold are the likes of Prabhas, Rana Dagubatti, Mahesh Babu, Dulquer Salman, Fahadh Faasil and Nivin Pauly. And Arjun Reddy fame Vijay Devarakonda is also eyeing the Tamil Nadu market.
Today, Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu’s AR Murgadoss-directed Spyder, a bilingual in Telugu and Tamil, is releasing worldwide. The action entertainer is being aggressively marketed in Tamil Nadu, where it is getting as big a release as a Vijay or Ajith film with an opening in nearly 500 screens. Mahesh Babu himself speaks fluent Tamil and has led the promotional campaign for a film which has predominantly Tamil cast and crew.
Among last Friday’s nine Tamil releases, it was Rana Dagubatti’s Naan Aanayittal, the Tamil-dubbed version of Nene Raju Nene Mantri, which made some impact. Says Kannapan, a veteran distributor who dealt with dubbed films, “Till recently, there was a clear demarcation between Tamil dubbed and straight films, which could easily be identified by bad lip sync and dubbing. Now things have changed with superior dubbing of Hollywood and Bollywood films like Dangal, which penetrated into B and C markets. And social media has given other language stars a new reach in Tamil Nadu.”
Heroism for all
AR Murgadoss says, “I feel Mahesh Babu can reach across to Tamil audiences. When he does heroism on screen it looks natural and real. We need heroism on screen for a mass film, but the balance is also equally important for our viewers.”
The idea is clear. A mass Telugu hero will find acceptance among Tamil audiences if the content and packaging appeals to them. The reason behind Baahubali 1 and 2’s huge success is that SS Rajamouli knew the pulse of Tamil audiences and had also predominantly Tamil actors (Sathyaraj, Nasser and Ramya Krishnan) playing key roles in the supporting cast.
Getting the cast right
Spyder too has a very strong Tamil supporting cast with SJ Surya, Bharath, RJ Balaji, Jayaprakash and a few others.
Meanwhile, all the young and happening stars in Malayalam are making a beeline for Tamil cinema. Dulquer Salmaan, after being recognised for his performance in Mani Ratnam’s OK Kanmani, is pinning a lot of hope on Bejoy Nambiar’s Solo . Nivin Pauly is trying to dub in his own voice for his next Richie, which is shot as a Tamil neo noir action film. Fahadh Faasil too is playing a crucial parallel role with Sivakarthikeyan in Mohan Raja’s Velaikkaran . Fahadh is also working on two other Tamil films Thiagarajan Kumararaja’s Super Deluxe and the big Mani Ratnam multi starrer. Tovino Thomas’s Tamil film Abhiyum Anuvum, directed by cinematographer BR Vijayalakshmi, is releasing next month. Dhanush has announced that Tovino will play the antagonist in his Balaji Mohan directed Maari 2 as well.
Multi-state business
A lot is riding on these Malayalam superstars who are in the peak of their careers in Kerala. Explains Bejoy Nambiar, director of Solo, “Even with just two films in Tamil, Dulquer has created a solid impact with the Tamil audiences. It makes perfect sense to reach out to a wider audience and not restrict himself to Malayalam. He has an infectious charisma that will surely work with a pan–Indian audience.”
The floodgates will be opened further for other language heroes if Spyder turns out to be a hit.
