Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan is having an unbelievable run at the box office. The film has smashed every record for a Hindi film by grossing 550 crores in its first five-day weekend worldwide. The trade expects the film will collect a gross close to Rs. 1000 crore in the long run.
But the fact is pan-India films like Baahubali 2 and RRR have collected more than Rs. 1500 crore gross worldwide during their run. So what is monumental in the case of Hindi films like Pathaan, it is a cakewalk for South films to gross such figures, if the content is accepted.
For example, Pushpa 2 and Salaar are expected to topple the Rs. 1000 crore gross figure within a week or two.
It is true that Bollywood films don’t have that kind of reach in South markets like the South films have taken over the Hindi belts. This is because the content in South films is more universal and appealing to the masses in the Northern areas than the content in Hindi films.
Also, South filmmakers make efforts to make their pan-India films reach every pocket in the country, like in the case of RRR. Whereas, Hindi superstars rarely come down to the South to promote their films.
Pathaan has paved the way for Bollywood by returning back to telling stories that are larger than life and mass-appealing. SRK’s Jawaan directed by Atlee and starring Vijay Sethupati and Nayanthara is one such pan-India film from Bollywood that should be able to penetrate the South Indian markets.
