In a recent conversation with Variety India, Allu Sirish, who has transitioned into a key role within his father’s production house, shared his insights on the evolving landscape of Indian cinema. Specifically, he addressed the missed opportunities regarding the theatrical releases of major Bollywood films like Dhurandhar and Chhaava in the Southern markets.
Despite Dhurandhar emerging as a massive Bollywood grosser last December, Sirish believes it could have achieved even greater heights. He mentioned that while the film performed well, it lacked the strategic multi-language dubbing seen with hits like Jawan and Animal.
Expressing his admiration for recent Hindi releases, Sirish said, “I loved Dhurandhar. I loved Chhaava, and I loved Animal. I think only the makers of Animal took the effort of dubbing it in Telugu and reaching out to a wider audience.”
He further talked about the delay in bringing Chhaava to the Telugu audience, saying, “Chhaava, also, after we saw it, we initiated a conversation with the producers. My dad (Allu Aravind) felt the movie had to be seen, and after a month or something, we released it in Telugu. By then, some steam was lost.”
Sirish dismissed the idea of a language divide, pointing out that audiences are more connected than ever. He explained, “I’m saying, like how the Hindi audience has endorsed Telugu films without any bias, Telugu audiences and even audiences in other languages, like Malayalam, Kannada, to some extent Tamil, all of them are open now to Hindi films. There is no bias. This is all internet noise. The audience doesn’t care.”
Sirish urged Hindi filmmakers to be more proactive in their approach to the South. He said, “I think Hindi filmmakers should put more focus on releasing their content here. Dhurandhar not being dubbed into Telugu, I think, was a huge opportunity missed. Imagine how much more business it could have done and how many more eyeballs it could have reached had it released in Telugu also.”
Allu Sirish suggested that the industry should look at successful examples like Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal or Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan to understand the financial potential of the South. He said, “I feel like the Hindi studios should be more proactive in releasing their content here and not treat it as a one-off activity. I think they should learn a little from Animal’s playbook, because the Telugu version here also collected a sizable amount. Jawan did, and because of the hype, people here also watched it.”
Backing his argument with data, he added, “Usually, I think around 15 to 18 per cent is South India’s contribution to the all-India net. But with Jawan it was 28 to 31 per cent. So, I think filmmakers should invest more in dubbing their films in other languages.”
Fortunately, it seems the industry is taking note. The makers of the upcoming Dhurandhar 2 are set to release the sequel in multiple languages, including Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, and Malayalam, ensuring a pan-Indian reach.
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