Southern films struggle in Hindi: Poor marketing, weak stories to blame

An increasing number of southern language films dubbed in Hindi have failed to attract a favourable response in the past six months, thanks to limited or no marketing, lack of stories containing universal values and stylish larger-than-life characters, a small four-week window in theatres, and ineffective branding through the deliberate casting of prominent actors from across India.

The recent washout performance of the Hindi-dubbed version of the Tamil film Thug Life points is the latest example.

According to box office research firm Sacnilk, Thug Life collected 1.2 crore in Hindi over the past three days, while the Tamil version earned 26.08 crore in the same period. Apart from Thug Life, dubbed Hindi films such as Retro, HIT: The Third Case and Kanguva have not worked.

Producers believe that the increasing tendency among southern filmmakers to promote films as pan-India offerings is a key reason for their failure.

“A pan-India film is a myth. Deliberately casting actors from different states does not make a southern film pan-India. The Hindi belt audience just wants a good, entertaining film. A good film dubbed in as many languages as you want will work,” said Naveen Chandra, founder and CEO of 91 Film Studios, a studio that produces, finances, and distributes regional films.

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He cites ‘Pushpa 2’ and ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ as examples of films that found a strong audience in the Hindi belt. “In Pushpa 2: The Rule, the story has not progressed at all. The cop has not caught the criminal. There is a continuous chase. Yet, the film has worked. This is because almost every scene in the film is entertaining. And the Hindi belt audience has loved it,” said Chandra.Pushpa 2: The Rule was released in December last year. It collected Rs 812 crore in the dubbed Hindi version alone-much higher than the film’s collection in its original Telugu, which was Rs 341.4 crore.Another reason Hindi-dubbed versions are failing at the box office is their storytelling. “The Hindi belt audience is not interested in stars. They are interested in stories that contain universal values, stylish larger-than-life characters, and a high dose of escapism. Of late, however, southern films have been more realistic, with little escapism. Hence, they are not travelling beyond their home states,” said Shaaminder Malik, a film distributor and trade analyst.

According to a report by media and entertainment research firm Ormax Media, in 2024, dubbed Hindi films contributed 31% to the total Hindi box office, highlighting the dominance of southern films. But this contribution is likely to drop in 2025.

Limited marketing and promotion, along with a four-week theatrical window, have also contributed to the failure of Hindi-dubbed films. “Of late, a dubbed Hindi film is either not marketed or not well enough. Audiences in the Hindi belt are not aware of these films. Importantly, most southern films stay in theatres for only four weeks before being released to streamers. So, the potential of these films is not fully exploited by Hindi belt audiences,” said Suniel Wadhwa, a veteran film distributor.

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