From pan-Indian films to OTT darlings: What was happening in Indian cinema in 2022

Pan-Indian films: Short-lived craze, or something bigger at play?

The term ‘pan-Indian’ film first became popular following the success of S S Rajamouli’s Baahubali films, and gained momentum with the success of KGF: Chapter 1 (2018) and its 2022 sequel. It is one that is supposed to cater to the tastes and sensibilities of people and communities across the country. These films are dubbed in various Indian languages to broaden their audience base.

Promotional campaigns for various movies, cutting across industries, aggressively marketed these films as ‘pan-Indian’, with claims that all sections of society would find relatable elements in the films. A few examples include the Vijay Deverakonda-starrer Liger (a flop and a top contender for most ‘Worst films of the year’ list); Brahmāstra, the first instalment in Ayan Mukerji’s ambitious fantasy series; and Radhe Shyam, which starred Telugu actor Prabhas, the lead actor in the Baahubali films and the first face of the pan-Indian phenomenon.

However, barring Rajamouli’s RRR (a global hit with a Golden Globe nomination), and two Kannada films KGF: Chapter 2 and Kantara (more on those later), none of the other ‘pan-Indian’ films managed to deliver on their promise of widespread appeal. While it is true that Brahmāstra emerged as a hit, it definitely did not have the craze that would elevate it to the status of films like Baahubali, Pushpa, etc. Similarly, the Tamil film Vikram, which marked veteran actor Kamal Haasan’s return to the movies after a gap of four years, was a mega-hit in theatres across India; however, it had never been marketed as a ‘pan-Indian’ film.

So, where exactly do we stand with this trend? With the release of Allu Arjun-starrer Pushpa: The Rule (sequel to 2021’s runaway pan-Indian hit Pushpa: The Rise) in 2023, and with the two next Shah Rukh Khan films (Pathaan and Jawan) being promoted as being ‘pan-Indian’, the discussion is not going to fizzle out anytime soon.

However, there is also the chance that this trend could simply be refashioned based on the next hit or ‘landmark’ film. In fact the trend isn’t particularly novel – Indian cinema has a rich history of remaking and adapting stories from across industries. Prabhu Deva’s directorial debut ‘Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana’ (2005), a Telugu movie, was remade into nine other languages. Back in 1959, ‘Mahishasura Mardini’, starring Kannada cinema legend Dr Rajkumar, was dubbed and released in seven other languages.

‘Rise’ of Kannada cinema

The spotlight this year seemed to have been on the Kannada film Kantara– a film made on a budget of Rs 16 crore, set in a village in Dakshina Kannada, grossed over Rs 400 crores in film collections, as per some reports. This makes it one of the highest-grossing Sandalwood (Kannada film industry) films of all time.

So how did a film dealing with local customs and folklore of Dakshina Kannada make such a big splash worldwide? In an interview with The Indian Express, writer, director and star of the film, Rishabh Shetty, said, “After being exposed to content from different parts of the world, audiences are more interested in stories that are grounded, rooted and reflect Indian sentiments. Only we can tell the stories related to our culture.”

Kantara came on the heels of Prashanth Neel’s wildly successful KGF films, which broke many records, both at the box office (KGF: Chapter 2 became only the fourth Indian film to cross Rs 1000 crore worldwide) and in making Sandalwood a force to reckon with on the national stage. The film made its star Yash a household name across India, and its director Prashanth Neel has lined up multiple projects with at least two big stars of Telugu cinema — Prabhas in Saalar and Jr NTR in an unnamed film.

“The content and the intent were always there. We have had some great movies like Raajakumar in the past from the industry. KGF gave us that platform to go big and all out. We scaled it up a bit and tried to do our market research. This has been a phenomenal year for the Sandalwood industry with some amazing movie releases. We are glad that we could break that stereotypical mindset of people about our industry and cinema,” Vijay Kirgandur, founder of Hombale Films, the production company behind KGF and Kantara had said earlier.

Is it truly the decline of Bollywood?

2022 saw Bollywood being criticised massively, both in terms of box-office performance and its content, which seemed to be relying on old formulas instead of keeping pace with the times. Of course, there was also #BoycottBollywood, a trend that seeks to stop audiences from consuming content created by the Hindi film industry.

Comparing the success of some south Indian films in the Hindi belt, with the underwhelming response to Hindi films, there is said to be an audience disconnect with the kind of stories Bollywood is choosing to tell.

The industry’s primary narrative over the years has been that of stardom and star power, but that seems to be on the decline too. Aamir Khan’s ambitious Laal Singh Chadha – an adaptation of the 1994 American film starring Tom Hanks, Forrest Gump – failed to do numbers at the box office. One section of people blamed it on the #BoycottBollywood trend, while others blamed the clichéd storyline. It is interesting to note that the film did well overseas, and received much more praise once it became available on Netflix. Other big-budget films that not only failed commercially, but were also panned by critics for their lacklustre writing were the Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Shamshera, and Akshay Kumar’s Prithviraj Chauhan and Rakshabandhan.

The Indian Express’ veteran film critic Shubhra Gupta has written that while the “turnaround” towards the South Indian big films “has been underway, big-budget Bollywood films starring the biggest A-listers, from the biggest studios, have literally bitten the dust.”

However, all was not bleak for Bollywood. In the commercial sphere, Brahmāstra emerged as the highest-grossing Hindi film and the fourth-highest grossing Indian film in 2022, with its box office collection surpassing Rs 431 crore. Another Alia Bhatt starrer, Gangubai Kathiawadi, was commercially successful, and also won critical acclaim. Released in late February, it was even considered by many to have brought back Hindi audiences to theatres. It may be worthwhile to note that both these films faced active boycott campaigns, and still emerged as hits.

Vivek Agnihotri’s The Kashmir Files was a big hit as well. The film, which deals with the Kashmiri Pandit exodus in 90s’, has been the subject of controversy since its release. Most recently, at the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI), jury head Nadav Lapid described it as a ‘vulgar’ piece of propaganda in his closing remarks.

Ajay Devgn and Tabu-starrer Drishyam 2 was another success story, both critically and commercially. Vikram Vedha, An Action Hero, Badhaai Do and Jhund received praise, with the latter two doing even better once they were released on streaming platforms.

Meanwhile, OTT exclusives seemed to walk away with the majority of critical appreciation. A few notable examples are Jalsa (starring Vidya Balan and Shefali Shah), Darlings (starring Alia Bhatt, Shefali Shah and Vijay Verma), Gehraaiyan (starring Deepika Padukone and Siddhant Chaturvedi), Monica O My Darling (starring Rajkummar Rao, Huma Qureishi and Radhika Apte) and Qala (starring Tripti Dimri, Babil Khan and Swastika Mukherjee). Most of these films were women-centric, cementing OTT platforms as successful alternatives to showcase stories which would probably not have worked in the traditional box office sense.

The industry has three Shah Rukh Khan films (Pathaan, Jawan and Dunki), two Salman Khan movies (Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan and Tiger 3), a Karan Johar directorial starring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt (Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani), and a film from Bollywood’s best performer of 2022, Kartik Aaryan (Shehzada) slated for 2023. In other words, another year full of expectations from Bollywood— and probably a few tests too.