Tamil Nadu was not considered a good market for Hindi movies for ages. But Bollywood films have started making their presence felt in the state in the recent past. Now, many Hindi films are performing well at the box office and this became particularly evident with the success of the latest Hindi movie, Dangal, in the state.
The Aamir Khan-starrer made over Rs 13 crore, with a net income of Rs 9.65 crore, in 10 days in Tamil Nadu. Like many other parts of India, the film has done well in the state.
According to leading critic and industry tracker Sreedhar Pillai, anti-Hindi movement continued to have a major impact on Bollywood movies until a few years ago. "Tamil Nadu was never considered a good market for Bollywood, like other South Indian states Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. It is because people were not familiar with the Hindi language and the anti-Hindi movement did not help the B-town in any way," he says.
The Muslim population contributed significantly to the growth of Bollywood films in Andhra Pradesh, and especially in Hyderabad, which is partly a Hindi-speaking region, Pillai adds. Karnataka has always been a good market for Hindi films and Bengaluru is known as a cosmopolitan city, which has a huge Hindi-speaking population. These factors boosted the business of Hindi movies in these two South Indian states. But it was not the same in Tamil Nadu.
However, now a combination of various factors is helping Bollywood expand its reach in the Tamil-speaking state. "Things are changing now in Tamil Nadu. A large number of Hindi-speaking people are working in the IT companies, which has helped Bollywood increase its base in the state," Pillai says, also highlighting the role played by social media. Also, Hindi movies are being dubbed into Tamil, which was not happening much until recently.
Industry experts are predicting good days for Bollywood films, as many movies have done well in Tamil Nadu in the recent past. Films like Chennai Express, Ek Tha Tiger and recently, MS Dhoni: The Untold Story, struck gold at the box office, which is an indication of growing Bollywood market here.
However, only the movies starring big names, particularly Aamir Khan, are drawing people's attention in a huge way. Aamir Khan's movies, like Lagaan, 3 Idiots and PK, have done extremely well at the Tamil Nadu box office.
"Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan are the other actors whose films dominate the screens here," says Pillai. With both the actors now ready with their upcoming films, the good run of Bollywood films seems set to continue in Tamil Nadu.
