Synopsis
Hindi film studios are shifting focus to regional language films to counter the industry’s downturn. They are leveraging faster turnaround times and lower costs of production and promotion in regional cinema. This strategy addresses the audience’s increasing preference for culturally resonant, original stories. Representative Image Mumbai: Prominent Hindi film studios are moving into making regional language films as they look to break the dry spell caused by funding constraints, high costs and low confidence in starting fresh films. In the last one month, Dharma Productions, Luv Films, Baweja Studios, and Junglee Pictures are among the production houses that have announced films in Punjabi, Marathi, Tamil and Malayalam.
Dharma Productions announced a Punjabi film ‘Akaal’ with actor Gippy Grewal, while Junglee Pictures announced its Malayalam foray with the film ‘Ronth’ (night patrol).
“The Hindi film industry is in a flux. Big films and stars are unable to draw audiences to theatres. It will take at least twelve to fifteen months to deal with these challenges,” said Naveen Chandra, founder and CEO of 91 Film Studios, a production house that makes, finances and distributes regional films. “In the interim period, Hindi film production houses are experimenting with a few regional films.”
After Covid, repeated failures of big-budget Hindi films have forced the industry to reassess. Similar challenges persisted even for mid-sized Hindi films as audience’s interest in these films waned.
A key parameter which works in favour of regional film is the turnaround time. “The turnaround time for regional films is faster than mid-sized Hindi films,” said Chandra. “Generally, it takes 8-12 months to make a regional film, whereas a mid-sized Hindi film takes 1-2 years.”
In recent years, mid-sized Hindi films have been taki
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