Nagarjuna Interview: Southern Cinema Will Touch Rs 100 Crore Club Soon
News
oi-IANS
By Ians English
It's
ironical
that
superstar
Rajinikanth
starrer
Endhiran
was
the
first
Indian
film
to
cross
the
Rs
200
crore
mark
at
the
box
office.
After
that,
quite
a
few
Bollywood
films
minted
more
than
Rs.100
crore,
but
not
a
single
southern
film
could
replicate
the
success.
Popular
actor
Akkineni
Nagarjuna
says
"aggressive
marketing" and
"wider
release"
can
make
it
happen.
"We
should
be
touching
it
(Rs.100-crore
club)
in
two
or
three
years.
The
rate
at
which
the
Tamil
industry
is
now
progressing,
it
is
likely
to
touch
it
first.
The
Telugu
and
other
industries
are
likely
to
follow.
I
think
it
is
just
a
matter
of
time," Nagarjuna
told
IANS
in
an
interview.
In
recent
times,
Vijay-starrer
Tamil
action-drama
Thuppakki
reportedly
fetched
over
Rs
80
crore
at
the
box-office.
It
was
however
made
on
a
budget
of
Rs.70
crore.
"We
need
to
understand
that
Bollywood
has
a
wider
market.
A
Hindi
film
is
screened
across
the
country,
but
a
south
Indian
film
only
plays
in
its
respective
state.
Even
if
it's
played
in
other
states,
it
is
usually
on
limited
screens,"
he
said.
Shahrukh
Khan-starrer
Chennai
Express,
which
was
aggressively
marketed
in
the
south,
reportedly
minted
over
Rs.8
crore
in
its
first
three
weeks
in
Tamil
Nadu
alone.
"Hindi
films
are
released
in
over
2,000
multiplexes,
but
a
Telugu
film
is
only
released
in
about
200
multiplexes.
Bollywood
films
have
a
wide
release
abroad
vis-a-vis
most
south
Indian
films
that
rarely
have
a
global
release,"
Nagarjuna
added.
Continue
to
read
Akkineni
Nagarjuna
Interview
in
the
slideshow.
Nag
Points
Out
Bollywood's
Aggressive
Marketing
"In
the
recent
past,
Bollywood
films
are
being
dubbed
in
foreign
languages
too.
I
haven't
so
far
seen
a
south
Indian
film
being
dubbed
in
a
foreign
language.
This
type
of
aggressive
marketing
has
helped
their
industry
to
rake
in
the
moolah,
whereas
we
are
still
dependent
on
box-office
collections,"
he
said.
Content
Has
Nothing
To
Do
With
Collections
In
South
"It's
a
misconception
that
our
films
don't
make
money
because
of
poor
content.
Most
Bollywood
films
that
entered
the
Rs.100-crore
club
were
remakes
of
southern
films.
We
have
to
admit
that
we
need
to
market
our
films
aggressively,"
he
said.
Hindi
Femakes
Of
South
Indian
Films
Hindi
films
such
as
Wanted,
Singham,
Bodyguard,
Ready
and
Rowdy
Rathore
that
touched
the
Rs
100
crore
club
were
all
south
Indian
remakes.
Satellite
Rights
And
Ticket
Prices
"A
south
Indian
film
gets
a
pittance
from
satellite
rights
in
comparison
to
its
Bollywood
counterpart
that's
paid
three
or
four
times
more.
There
is
also
a
cap
on
ticket
prices
in
the
south.
In
a
multiplex,
viewers
are
paying
more
money
for
a
bucket
of
popcorn
than
for
a
movie
ticket,"
Nagarjuna
added.
Everything
With
Change
In
A
Few
Years:
Nag
In
Tamil
Nadu,
the
government
has
capped
ticket
prices
at
Rs
120.
"If
you
travel
by
an
international
airline,
you'll
mostly
find
only
Hindi
films
and
rarely
a
south
Indian
film.
But
I'm
sure
all
this
will
change
in
a
few
years
from
now,"
Nagarjuna
said.