Several films in south Indian languages have emerged as huge box office successes across the country in recent years, a position previously held by mostly Bollywood films. Producers Nawazuddin Siddiqui working in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada have increasingly considered the Hindi-speaking section of India to be potentially lucrative and have dubbed their films in their language, particularly after the record-breaking success of the Baahubali duology.
Nawazuddin Siddiqui, the acclaimed actor who rose to prominence with low-budget indie films, has now ventured into the commercial realm. Currently starring alongside Tiger Shroff in Heropanti 2, he was asked by NDTV if there is any insecurity in Bollywood following the dominance of films such as RRR and KGF: Chapter 2.
He went on to say that if a Hindi film becomes a box office success, it will reshape the debate. All of this will change if a Bollywood film becomes a big hit, just like in the fashion industry. In my opinion, this is just a fad.
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“When a film does well, everyone joins in and praises it more than it probably deserves,” he responded. Similarly, if a film isn’t a box office success, people criticize it more harshly than it deserves.”
The success of RRR and KGF 2 has sparked debate and even reignited old debates, such as the one about Hindi’s status. Ajay Devgn of Bollywood and Kannada star Kiccha Sudeep recently engaged in a Twitter feud over Sudeep’s claim that Hindi is not a national language.
Meanwhile, Siddiqui, known for an eclectic career that includes films such as Gangs of Wasseypur, Manto, and Bajrangi Bhaijaan, bemoaned the fact that the Indian film buff has emerged with a poorer taste as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic — he had expected the opposite due to increased exposure to international cinema.
