Southern films expand in market size, attract top Bollywood actors

For a long time, those close to the Hindi film industry were aware that lot of good films were getting made down south, and there were some really talented artistes working in the South.

Now with the reach of Southern films expanding even more (and thanks Baahubali for that), Bollywood A-listers are making a beeline to make their Bollywood debut. Some of them have already worked in the South but a few more are expected to follow.

We saw Akshay Kumar clashing with Rajinikanth in Shankar’s 2.0.

Now Amitabh Bachchan is all set to make his Tamil film debut in Uyarntha Manithan, a film with actor-director S.J. Surya

The successful Alia Bhatt will make her Telugu film debut with RRR, a period action film that will be directed by S.S. Rajamouli of Baahubali fame. The film also features Jr. NTR and Ram Charan in lead roles, and will also have star actor Ajay Devgn play an important supporting role.

In the past, few female Bollywood actors like Kajol, Deepika Padukone, Sonakshi Sinha, Aishwarya Rai and Priyanka Chopra have acted in Tamil films. However, the recent interest by the top male actors, points to the growing influence of south Indian films.

The South Indian film industry is expanding in market size (and even budgets), and every ambitious actor in India would want to be a prt of it. Having said that what Baahubali has done is unlikely to be surpassed at least for the next three to four years. At worldwide earnings of more than Rs.1,700 crore, Rajamouli’s Telugu language film, Baahubali 2: The Conclusion is the highest grossing Indian film beating other films by a very wide margin.

Superstars of the South Kamal Haasan and Rajinikanth did try their luck in Bollywood but over time they realized that they were better off in the South. I guess the tide is now turning.