Akshay Kumar’s ‘Soorarai Pottru’ remake to release on 1 September
1 min read 29 Mar 2023, 10:50 AM ISTThe box office success of several big budget Bollywood films, slated for release in the next few months, may be on a shaky ground with audiences rejecting remakes of southern language films lately
PremiumNew Delhi: Akshay Kumar’s untitled Hindi remake of Tamil film Soorarai Pottru will release in cinemas on 1 September. The original, that had streamed directly on Amazon Prime Video, had starred Suriya and was directed by Sudha Kongara, who will also helm the remake.
The new film co-stars Radhika Madan and Paresh Rawal.
The box office success of several big budget Bollywood films, slated for release in the next few months, may be on a shaky ground with audiences rejecting remakes of southern language films lately. Producers of remakes, some with budgets upwards of ₹80 crore, may be worried after the recent box office failure of films like Jersey, HIT: The First Case, Tadap, and Bachchhan Paandey, all remakes of Tamil and Telugu films, which, trade experts said, has cast uncertainty over Bollywood’s over-used formula of remaking films from the south.
Trade experts said the surge in adoption of entertainment on video streaming services during pandemic made the original films easily available to audiences dubbed in different languages or with subtitles. For instance, Soorarai Pottru is streaming on Amazon Prime Video in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada as well as in Hindi, titled Udaan.
The honeymoon period for filmmakers banking on the tried and tested appeal of a south Indian film by acquiring remake rights for as little as Rs. 5-7 crore, is over. The only way out for the Hindi producers is to also acquire the north Indian dubbing rights of the southern film so as to make sure it is at least not available in Hindi on YouTube or TV.
Last year, there was a controversy around Kartik Aaryan’s Shehzada, the remake of Allu Arjun’s Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo. Plans to release a dubbed Hindi version of the Telugu film on TV and OTT were abruptly put on hold after the Shehzada makers intervened in order to improve the prospects of their film.
