Move over Bollywood,Indias regional films are making big bucks in the overseas market When filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra sold the rights of 3 Idiots to South director Shankar,the Tamil remake Nanban was expected to be a blockbuster in the regional market. However,what came as a surprise was that the film did bigger business than the original in the overseas market,grossing nearly Rs 150 crore. Once a territory dominated by Bollywood movies,regional films are increasingly establishing themselves as alternatives in the ever-expanding international market. Recently,Telugu Eega and Tamil Billa 2 had a bigger opening in the UK,US,Malaysia and Australia,than the big-ticket Hindi film Bol Bachchan,which released simultaneously. While Eega earned nearly Rs 6 crore in four weeks in the US market alone,Billa 2 has made over Rs 2 crore in the US and UK. Other Telugu films Gabbar Singh and Business Man and Tamil Vettai and Dhoni have also witnessed success both in the West as well as South East Asian countries. Even Punjabi films are not too far behind films like Carry on Jatta and Jatt and Juliet have done good business,earning nearly Rs 1 crore each in Australia,Malaysia and New Zealand in three weeks. The trend has changed now. Movies with good content find takers across the world, explains George Pius,producer of Billa 2. While regional films,especially those with actor Rajinikanth in lead,have been releasing overseas,it was limited to countries with large population from that region. For instance,Punjabi films did well in countries such as Canada and the UK. However,with awareness regarding Indian cinema on the rise internationally,the approach is gradually changing. Actor R Madhavan,the lead actor in Vettai,believes that filmmakers in the South now understand the international audience better and pitch films accordingly. For instance,emotions such as love or genres such as action are universal. On the other hand,a movie that delves into a culture specific to a region may not find an international audience, he had said in an earlier interview to the publication. SS Rajamouli,who directed Eega,seconds Madhavan. He cites the example of 2011 overseas megahit,Telugu film Dookudu,which offered a mix of action,romance,drama something that Indian movies are known for internationally. The language then,does not matter because they are all equally alien to the international audience. For a long time,most of us believed that our films will not be able to compete with Hollywood films. Dookudus overnight success established the relevance of foreign market, says the veteran director. Actor Jimmy Shergill,who also produces Punjabi films,believes that the regional film industry has had much to learn from Bollywood in terms of marketing movies. When you have worked in Bollywood,you understand the nuances of filmmaking better, says the actor who does at least one Punjabi film every year. Technology has played a part too,in taking regional films to the world. Earlier,movement of physical prints was a difficult task,but digital prints have changed that and delivering content to its international destination is merely a matter of hours, adds Rajamouli,who now plans to release Eega in Spain and China. As a result,the international market has expanded to countries that remained unexplored earlier. Apart from Australia,New Zealand,Singapore,China and Japan,a few African countries as well as European nations such as Germany,Belgium and Spain are emerging as potential markets. However,trade analyst Taran Adarsh warns that only certain genres do well abroad. Masala action films produce good results,and on few occasions,other,good content works. Rajamouli adds that the limited screens offered to them when compared to the number that Hollywood or Bollywood movies get,are a challenge too. However,Pius sees scope for improvement. We have started adhering to improved marketing strategies and started touring around the world. We also want to reach out to many more countries now.
