Why Bollywood Can Never Match Its Regional Counterparts

Let me tell you, it won't.

Since the early 19th century, modern India has been an epitome of culture and cinema. A land which boasts of over 122 major languages produces as many as 1,600 films in 26 different Indian film industries annually.

Unfortunately, the majority of us cherish the most popular one and leave the others wailing for attention. Recently, the silent whimpers changed into howls and before we could reach out, they became roars. Regional cinema is no more looked down upon; in fact it is the talk of the town, thanks to trendsetters like Baahubali: The Beginning (Telugu/Tamil, 2015) and Sairat (Marathi, 2016).

Post Indian Independence, the period from late 1940s to the 1960s was regarded as the 'Golden Age' of Indian cinema. It paved the way for the Parallel Cinema movement, founded by Bengali cinema or Tollywood (yes, the Hollywood-inspired name was coined much before our favourite Bollywood) and further joined by Mollywood, Sandalwood, Kollywood and Pollywood (can you guess to which industries these sobriquets refer to)? It was in the late 70's that the Indian film industry began to divide. Whether it was due to a better approach, big names, bigger money or just the language, Bollywood rose and ruled, soon emerging as India's global identity. It gloats of an array of both masala and art films, but rarely of its creativity. The question that is bound to arise, is why?

Concept and innovation form the crux of regional cinema. Whether you agree or not, regional films have always been a step ahead of Bollywood. The regional film industry is the bridge between parallel and mainstream cinema. It has mastered the art of portraying sensitive social issues with grade-A technical perfection under affordable budgets. Like the fight sequences from down South or the solemnity of the East, each region has designed its own universal selling product.

Bollywood has not only fancied these progressive thought processes in the past but have also slyly aped them, or at least tried to. The millennium welcomed the remake trend, and what's appalling is that Bollywood has embraced the fashion with open arms. Many are unaware of the fact that the Dilip Kumar-starrer Ram Aur Shyam (1967) was actually a remake of the Telugu film, Ramudu Bheemudu (1964). The superstar that tops this list of being very inspired by regional cinema is none other than Salman Khan, with many of his movies making the cut. But the list of questions still remains intact: where have Bollywood filmmakers lost their vision? Why are we so dependent on smaller industries for ideas when we claim to be the largest and most dominant? Do we unknowingly brag of an industry brewing with hypocrisy?

However, despite possessing all elements of a success - originality, talented ensemble and powerful scripts - regional cinema somehow fails to connect with Bollywood movie-watchers. Mindless battles, defeating gravity, over-the-top dialogues and a little extra style (as they call it) have become a trademark for a certain sect of films. Besides the battle with commercialization of Hindi films, regional cinema industries fight a battle within themselves. Films produced in or by a particular state, region or language are assigned a particular genre which is disheartening for makers with an alternative ideology.

The regional film industry has experienced a revival in the past few years. Out of a few hundreds, a handful of them have even managed to gain international recognition and accolades. To name a few, there is Kaaka Muttai (Tamil, 2015), O Kadhal Kanmani (Tamil, 2015), Nirbashito (Bengali, 2014), the critically acclaimed Qissa: The Tale of a Lonely Ghost (Punjabi, 2013), Premam (Malyalam, 2015), Thithi (Kannada, 2016) and so on. In fact, over the last five years,  three of India's submissions to the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film have been non-Hindi films: Adaminte Makan Abu  (Malayalam, 2011), The Good Road (Gujarati, 2013) and Court (Marathi, 2014).

Well, times are surely changing and so is people's outlook towards various film industries. With aids from big banners and production houses, regional movies are releasing on a larger scale and are well-accepted by the masses and classes alike. International actor-singer Priyanka Chopra's newly launched production house, Purple Pebble Pictures, has planned three different regional films. Actor Riteish Deshmukh made his debut as a film producer with the Marathi success Balak Palak (2013). Furthermore, veteran actor Manoj Bajpayee has openly supported the glorification of Bhojpuri cinema in Bihar and throughout India. We, at BollyCurry, definitely appreciate Bollywood celebrities backing regional cinema in good spirit.

 

Writer: Anushka J.

Editors: Sanika S. and Gunia K.

Graphics: Ayesha S.