Niche Tamil hits arrive late, save Hindi theatres from content drought

Amid a content drought in the Hindi-speaking belt, small-scale Tamil films, such as Thangalaan and Demonte Colony 2, are stepping in to fill the void. These niche movies, which premiered weeks ago in their home states, are only arriving in the north now, deviating from the usual pan-India release pattern.

However, despite their delayed release, these movies are finding an enthusiastic audience in the north, where theatres are hungry for fresh content, even if they lack the grandeur of blockbusters like RRR and KGF.

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For instance, Vikram-starrer Thangalaan earned nearly ₹70 crore in Tamil Nadu, while the horror comedy, Demonte Colony 2, surpassed ₹35 crore. Vijay Sethupathi’s Maharaja, which also premiered later in Hindi, had garnered over ₹80 crore.

However, since many of these southern films opted for OTT premieres within four weeks of their theatrical releases, multiplex chains like PVR Inox chose not to screen them in the north. Despite this, the films have offered some relief to non-national multiplexes and independent theatres.

“Theatres are dealing with an extreme lack of content, so anything that catches the audience’s attention is great for us,” said Pranav Garg, managing director, Maya Palace, a two-screen cinema in Muzaffarnagar. 

Garg acknowledged that while these niche films provide some relief, their appeal is not as widespread as major southern hits like RRR and KGF: Chapter 2, which enjoyed extensive marketing and simultaneous pan-India releases. 

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Furthermore, the stars of these Tamil films are less known in the Hindi belt compared to more popular actors such as Prabhas and Allu Arjun.

“We may not have been able to play these films had there been big titles scheduled alongside. But at the moment, there are no major films releasing and we need content to feed the cinemas. As things are right now, we are not in a position to even break even with staff salaries, electricity and maintenance charges to take care of,” Garg added.

The shift in release patterns has also influenced the screening of these films. Prior to the covid-19 pandemic, the gap between a film's theatrical release and OTT premiere was around eight weeks. However, with cinemas closed for extended periods, many movies started premiering on streaming platforms much sooner. 

Although exhibitors expected a return to the old release schedules, this hasn’t happened uniformly. Tamil filmmakers, in particular, have increasingly opted for shorter OTT windows, which has impacted multiplex revenues. 

Consequently, chains like PVR Inox are hesitant to screen these southern films in the Hindi belt.

“These films (like Thangalaan) have done well in their respective home states and shown that there is an audience for them. During periods of lull when there isn’t much occupancy in theatres anyway, people are experimenting with such strategies to at least attract some niche viewers,” Rahul Puri, managing director, Mukta Arts and Mukta A2 Cinemas said. 

Movie screens are free, so the goal is to offer more choices to fill seats” Puri said, adding that the target audience for these films often includes people from South India living in the Hindi belt.

“At the time that these films had released in the south, there were several Hindi movies arriving in theatres. Now, there are none, so a delayed release makes sense. Plus, many southern heroes are slowly turning into pan-India names and there is definite traction for these movies,” Ashutosh Agarwal, owner of Star World Cinemas in Uttar Pradesh, said.