Regional Cinema Breaking Boundaries

India is a country where many languages are spoken. Many of the larger languages support their own film industry. Some of the popular regional film industries in India are Bhojpuri, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and Punjabi. The Hindi film industry which is based in Mumbai (formally known as Bombay) and is known as Bollywood and similarly Tamil film industry Kollywood, Bhojpuri film industry Bhojiwood, Gujarati cinema Dhollywood/Gollywood, Malayalam film industry Mollywood and many others.

India is known for producing the largest amount of movies in the world but that is not just Bollywood’s contribution. Bollywood is just the biggest industry in India and Hindi is just one of the many languages spoken here. Bollywood is dominant in northern parts of India whereas the southern parts have other film industries dominating. These numerous other film industries of India are responsible for this world record. These regional industries have influenced filmmakers worldwide.

"When it comes to Indian cinema, Hindi films cannot compete with other regional cinema that are churning out world-class content today," said filmmaker Shekhar Kapur.

Hindi films cannot compete with regional cinema as they are better than Bollywood. From scripts to acting, regional movies inspire Hindi film industry. Singham, Ready, Wanted, Bodyguard, Ghajini, Bhool Bhulaiyaa are some of the Bollywood movies that are copied from regional cinema. The amazing script and story worked in both areas.

Marathi and Malayalam cinema is increasingly getting national and international recognition for the quality and kinds of movies being made. Regional film industries are thus now coming into focus. With the smaller budgets and less star culture, the filmmakers get the freedom to experiment with movies and put the content and story at the center of the films.

The people from Bollywood are also taking efforts to promote regional cinema. Anurag Kashyap has praised about 2015’s internationally acclaimed Tamil film Visaranari, director Vetrimaaran’s movie about police brutality in the current justice system.

Priyanka Chopra’s production house Purple Pebble Pictures currently has three regional films in development – in Bhojpuri, Punjabi, and Marathi.

Karan Johar’s Dharma Productions was behind the distribution of Baahubali: The Beginning in North India. Kashyap’s Phantom Films distributed the 2013 Tamil film Pardesi for North Indian audiences.

If we look at India’s official entry to the Oscars over the last five years, three of the submissions have been non-Hindi films: 2011’s Abu, Son of Adam (Malayalam), 2013’s The Good Road (Gujarati), and 2014’s Court (Marathi).

Our regional films are playing a key part in putting our nation on the international stage for their bold and innovative filmmaking. The fact is that movies like Court, Baahubali, and Bangalore Days are some of the best films that have come from local territories.