Decoding the rise of Tollywood in North India

Two weeks before the release of Allu Arjun’s Pushpa 2 in theatres, the makers hosted a grand trailer launch in Patna, Bihar. Over 10,000 people packed into Gandhi Maidan, Bihar’s capital, surpassing the attendance at many political rallies typically held at the venue. The excitement was reminiscent of the days when Bollywood stars would generate such fervour.

Allu Arjun’s Pushpa 2 is the latest instance of how regional blockbusters and heroes have become a nationwide craze, a trend that began with the first instalment of Pushpa in December 2021 and continued with films such as RRR, KGF: Chapter 2 and Kalki 2898 AD among others.

By the end of this weekend, Pushpa 2, which was released in theatres on December 5, is expected to surpass `1,000 crore in net earnings at the Indian box office. Interestingly, more than 50% of these earnings, over `500 crore, will come from the Hindi version alone, with the remaining earnings coming from the South Indian languages, according to trade experts.

While action entertainers and horror comedies from Bollywood such as Shah Rukh Khan’s Jawan and Pathaan, Kartik Aaryan’s Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2 and 3, Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal and Shraddha Kapoor’s Stree 2 have lit the box office too over the last two to three years, hits from the Hindi film industry in the post-pandemic era have been fewer and far between.While Pushpa 2’s dominance at the Hindi box office coincides with the overall decline of Bollywood, experts highlight other factors behind the rise of Tollywood in the Hindi heartland.

Distributors, exhibitors, and trade analysts point out that a steady stream of dubbed regional content has been reaching Hindi audiences, both in cities and small towns, for over a decade, fueling the growing craze.At the same time, exhibitors also point to the gradual alienation of small-town India in mainstream Hindi entertainment, popularised by Amitabh-Bachchan action capers in the 1970s and 1980s. The hero in these films was flawed, angry and fighting the system, Pranav Garg, who runs a theatre called Maya Cinema in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, said. Bollywood, he says, in recent years has shifted its gaze to a more modern, sophisticated “multiplex audience”, leaving small-town India clamouring for their dose of masala entertainment.
The potent mix of familiarity with regional heroes and the easy availability of dubbed content over television and digital platforms has ensured that the Hindi heartland has embraced these heroes even as Bollywood loses its charm, he says.

“Hindi viewers are not unfamiliar with an Allu Arjun, Ram Charan, Prabhas or Junior NTR. They know these heroes thanks to the dubbed Hindi film versions of their films they’ve been seeing on TV channels and OTT platforms. And many, especially in small towns, like the content, which has a bit of everything – drama, action, romance and comedy,” explains Amit Sharma, MD, Miraj Entertainment, which runs multiplex chain Miraj Cinemas across the country.

Akkshay Rathie, a film exhibitor and distributor, who is also a director at Nagpur-based cinema chain Aashirwad Theatres, is blunt about why Tollywood has become Bollywood today. And Allu Arjun the new Bachchan.

“The Hindi film fraternity has become too urban in its story-telling format. Regional cinema tends to be very rooted in contrast. They create content that can be accessed, viewed and enjoyed by the widest set of people possible in the country. Which is why their cinema is clicking in Bihar, UP and Uttarakhand besides its core markets in the south,” Rathie adds.
According to trade experts, the Hindi markets, covering the north and west regions, has about 50-55% of India’s total screen density of 9,200 versus 40-45% in the five southern states of Andhra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka. A monster hit such as Pushpa 2 therefore must have all the familiar tropes of mass entertainment for it to click with audiences across the north-south divide.

Kamal Khurana, owner of Urvashi Cinema, located in the small town of Kichha, close to Haldwani in Uttarakhand, said that regional film-makers today are also not averse to marketing their films in places away from their regional pocket burroughs.

“There are trailer launches, promotional events and roadshows happening in small towns across North India, which gets these audiences excited. In my town, for instance, there are two theatres, one is owned by me and the other by another proprietor. But both of us have been running Pushpa 2 shows over the last two weeks because the demand is so strong,” he says.
Clearly, Pushpa 2 and Allu Arjun are riding an entertainment wave at the moment.