It is not only the season of remakes in Kollywood but also a new trend is catching the attention of the filmmakers in Tamil. If we have a look at the past, since decades Kollywood is making bilingual movies. It has started with Vijaya Productions who made Telugu blockbuster hit film Pathala Bhairavi in Tamil. This film introduced legendary actors NTR and SV Rangarao to the Kollywood screens. Later it is Nageswara Rao, Bhanumathi, Ramakrishna who followed the path. Though this is an old trend but the trend has slowed down over the last three generations but now it is turning popular as the stars are reaching wider section of audience and financial terms too are taken into consideration.
We have come across very few bilingual or multilingual films which have managed to strike gold at the box office but filmmakers are going ahead and announcing films in this genre. The filmmakers are showing interest in making Bi linguals as the greater portion of time for shooting a film will be reduced, the extra cost of reshooting the same scene or sequence with an identical cast speaking the exact lines in a second language costs very little more. A natural guess was that such a practice by the filmmakers would cost only ten to fifteen percent more. By keeping apart the budget and financial matters it is the audience who need to welcome the bi lingual films.
Many films of this genre failed as the Indian audiences were still not ready to accept such experiments. The main logic that the makers are missing is the story and the casting. The film if made in bi lingual it must be understood by everyone and more over the story must be universal. But filmmakers with never-give-up attitude are making the films with the same hope of reaching a wider audience belt with the same theme. Now let’s take a look at the films that are going to be released in this genre.
Rajinikanth’s Rana which is making lot of buzz right from day one is not only made in Tamil but also making its presence on Tollywood and Bollywood big screens. The film stars Rajini in three roles of different age groups directed by KS Ravi Kumar. Rana is going to start its shoot in London during the mid of this month. It is only Bollywood beauty Deepika Padukone who got confirmed opposite. Buzz is that Anushka and Ileana were confirmed for the two roles but an official announcement is awaited. The filmmakers are have made a best decision of releasing Rana in Telugu and Hindi as our Superstar has a huge fan base all over and also the film can make the best collections like Endhiran.
Director Shankar’s prestigious film Nanban which stars Vijay, Jeeva and Srikanth in the lead roles is also being screened in Telugu version upon its release. Ileana is the female lead and the film so far completed two schedules and buzz is that the film is going to release for Diwali. Later to this Suriya’s medical thriller 7am Arivu is going to hit Tollywood screens along with the Tamil version. It is to be noted here that Suriya’s many films were released in Telugu and all of them were accepted by the audience. Now Suriya turned as a universal hero with his handsome looks and outstanding acting skills.
Ace director Mani Ratnam too is releasing his magnum opus Ponniyin Selvan in both Tamil and Telugu. Mani has planned well from the roots itself by casting Vijay, Tollywood Prince Mahesh Babu, Arya and Anushka in the lead roles as all of them are well known faces in both the woods and so the film in all probabilities will strike gold at the box office if the script is strong and carries a universal flavor. In fact Mani Ratnam has released almost all his films simultaneously in Telugu and Hindi which are hits and average performers.
Boys Siddhartha is yet again being back on Kollywood screens with 180, bilingual film. Directed by ace ad filmmaker Jayendra the film has a different love story and already the trailers have attracted the audience in Tamil and Telugu. Siddhartha’s earlier films like Boys and Aayutha Ezhuthu were also well received by the audience of the neighboring states. Next comes Kamal’s forthcoming film Viswaroobham directed by Selvaraghavan. The film is just in the initial stages and the filmmakers have announced that it is going to be a bi lingual in Tamil, Telugu and mostly Hindi.
There are many more films like Avan Ivan, Vettai, Fashion and KO which are being made in this genre in the near future. The main idea of the filmmakers of making a bi lingual is too make good amount of profits during the initial days of the release and stay safe from the financial troubles.
The producers are asking the directors during the script discussion itself to design it into a bi lingual film. No doubt this is the best mantra for the producers to play a safe bet as the production cost is reduced and if the film fares well at the box office it’s the producer who can get back his investments along with fruitful profits. This is not only a positive sign for the filmmakers but for the stars too as it is a greater exposure for them to expand their market to other industries as well.
This trend is bringing many offers to the stars and market value of them is increasing by doing a film of this genre. Many Tamil films which are made in bi lingual genre are making good profits were as films coming from Tollywood are unable to set the box office on fire as the heroes are showing less interest. The major advantage Tamil Industry has is their directors who are known across the languages. Telugu Film Industry is giving a try for varied subjects and can have better prospects if our heroes and directors decide to break language barriers. It can be noted here that more or less all popular Tamil directors made an attempt of directing a Telugu hero movie but none of the Telugu director had directed a movie starring a Tamil hero. Finally making a bi lingual is a big positive sign not only for the stars or filmmakers but the whole industry too will have greater exposure in terms of its technicalities and financial aspects.
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