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Producers Boney Kapoor and Naga Vamsi recently got into a heated exchange during the Galatta Plus Producers’ Round Table 2024. While Boney Kapoor spoke about Hindi cinema’s global impact and how each regional cinema has its own unique markets overseas, Naga Vamsi argued that South Indian cinema has played a pivotal role in reshaping Hindi cinema and pushing it to rethink its approach.
Boney Kapoor discussed how Hindi cinema has a significant presence internationally, highlighting that iconic stars like Raj Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, and Shah Rukh Khan are remembered in countries like Russia, Egypt, and Morocco. He also pointed out that Telugu and Tamil films have strong markets in regions like the US, Singapore, and Malaysia. He said, “The King of Morocco had honoured Amitabh and later Shah Rukh Khan. Telugu films and Tamil films have unique markets. For instance, Telugu films have a unique market in the US, while Tamil films have a strong presence in Singapore and Malaysia. That’s a significant chunk of the overseas business. And the Gulf, of course, is a cosmopolitan area.” Naga Vamsi replied, “No, the Gulf has a huge market for Malayalam films.”
Naga Vamsi responded, emphasising that South Indian cinema, particularly films like RRR and Baahubali, have reshaped how Bollywood views cinema. He said, “I have to add to this. This might sound harsh, but we South Indians have changed the way you look at cinema — even for Bollywood. Because you guys were stuck in making films for Bandra and Juhu. But now, with films like RRR, Baahubali, Animal, Jawan, etc., these have kind of changed your version. After Mughal-E-Azam, you mentioned films like Baahubali and RRR, which were Telugu films. You never really spoke of a Hindi film’s name after Mughal-E-Azam.”
Boney seemed a little miffed by Naga’s statement. He explained, “When I was talking about historicals. See, in this forum, we can’t discuss every bit of knowledge that we know. You just have to speak in broader terms. So, when I mention Mughal-E-Azam, Baahubali, and all, it’s not that I missed out on those films. I’m aware of them. But it’s not as though Telugu films have taught Indian cinema…” Vamsi interrupted, “Not taught, sir. We just rediscovered Hindi cinema because of these mass, huge event films.”
Boney disagreed with this, pointing out that many stars, including the hero of Pushpa 2, have cited Amitabh Bachchan as an inspiration, showing that it’s not a language barrier but rather the universal appeal of good cinema. He also highlighted that even Marathi films are now achieving significant success at the box office.
He said,, “I don’t believe that. It was always there. Even the hero of Pushpa 2 has said that he is a big fan of Amitabh Bachchan.” Naga responded, “I’m a huge fan of Shah Rukh Khan myself.” Boney pointed out, “He could have said he’s a big fan of NTR.” To which Vamsi replied, “Allu Arjun is a fan of Chiranjeevi too.”
Boney Kapoor said, “He may be. But what he has spoken to media lately, is that he is a huge fan of Amitabh Bachchan. Which means, it is not the language. The barrier is never a language. Barrier is- what is good, what is bad. And what people digest is something which I feel is good. Whether it’s Telugu cinema, Tamil or Hindi cinema. It may be anything. Today, Marathi films are doing 100 crores.”
Interestingly, Boney Kapoor has been involved in remaking several South Indian films into Hindi including Hum Paanch from the Kannada film Paduvaaralli Pandavaru, Woh Saat Din from the Tamil film Andha 7 Naatkal, Loafer from the Tamil film Velai Kidaichuduchu, Sirf Tum from the Tamil film Kadhal Kottai, Khushi from the Tamil film Kushi and many more. He recently acquired rights of the Tamil film Comali to remake it in Hindi and other languages.
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