8 Bollywood Celebrities Who Spoke About South Indian Film Industry

There has been a lot of talk about the South film industry taking over Bollywood, especially with films like RRR, Pushpa, and KGF 2.

Nonetheless, substance reigns supreme, and the figures that South films generate in the Hindi marketplace are staggering.

But the debate rages on, and here’s what some Bollywood stars had to say about the Tollywood sector:

1. Nawazuddin Siddiqui

Nawazuddin Siddiqui briefly covered what he would alter in Bollywood. When asked about the South movie craze in Bollywood, he stated,

“One mistake that happened is that we kept doing remakes of South films. The biggest problem here is with the writers and stories, we are not making originals at all, leaving everything up to the remakes. I think we should take a lesson from that mistake and start making original films. That would be better.”

2. Sanjay Dutt

Sanjay Dutt, who is currently enjoying the popularity of KGF 2, spoke about the necessity for significantly bigger gallantry in Bollywood movies, saying,

“I think the Hindi film industry has forgotten the larger-than-life heroism. But the Southern industries didn’t forget heroism. I’m not saying that slice-of-life films or rom-coms are bad. But why have we forgotten our audience from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Rajasthan who make up a large section of our audience? I hope that trend comes back in the Hindi film industry. Earlier we had individual producers and financiers which the corporatization of film studios has brought to an end. Corporatization is good but that shouldn’t interfere with our taste in movies.”

3. Salman Khan

Salman Khan revealed that while Bollywood movies and projects do not perform well in the Tollywood industry, they do quite well here. He highlighted the significance of Bollywood producing more patriotic movies, saying,

“I wonder why our films are not doing so well in the south. Their films are doing so well here. Heroism always works, as there is a kind of connection, and that’s very important for (cine-goers). We’ve had this format from Salim-Javed’s times, but now they (south Indian filmmakers) are taking it to the next level. Fan following there (south India) is huge, and now I am also working with Chiru Garu. They have a different style of films, and it is very nice. They make films on beautiful concepts. Even when they make small films, people go and see them.”

4. Raveena Tandon

Raveena Tandon is a well-known actress who rose to prominence in the 1990s. The effervescent and vivacious diva has always chosen personalities who are distinctive and forceful.

She established out her own space in Indian cinema and made her own path without any help. Raveena Tandon discussed how South Indian cinema are deeply embedded in Indian culture, saying,

“Somewhere in the 90s, till the time melodious music and stories came in, there was a lot of aping the West. They all wanted to become Hollywood, with choppers and Westernising. Somewhere, there was a loss of Indian culture in our movies. And the minute I used to go shooting down south, they had such a strong ethos about their culture and their customs and their rituals. The movies would revolve around that kind of story. Immediately, the masses would identify and they would be super-duper hits.”

5. Akshay Kumar

Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia, better known by his stage name Akshay Kumar, is an Indian-born Canadian performer and filmmaker who primarily works in Hindi films. Kumar has starred in over 100 movies over the course of his acting skills and has won numerous prizes, along with a National Film Award for Best Actor and two Filmfare Awards.

Akshay Kumar, a 55-year-old performer, underlined the importance of partnership and how other movie industries should follow suit. This is what he said,

“I don’t think (it’s a competition). It’s a collaboration rather than a competition. I don’t think we should take it as a competition. There is nothing to compete about. We all want to come on the big screen and make money out of it and make big, big films. So there is no point in competing about it, it should be a collaboration. And the collaboration should not end here only, it should go to other people, like from Hollywood, French films also, actors from there and anywhere. It should keep on expanding.”

6. Ajay Devgn

When Ajay Devgn publicly announced that Hindi is our dominant language, his statement became a hot news. According to the actor, all movie businesses have been doing the same approach, as he stated,

“There’s nothing south or north. It’s the Indian film industry. They are also doing the same thing, we are also doing the same thing.”

7. Gulshan Devaiah

Gulshan Devaiah is an Indian performer who is most known for his work in Hindi cinema. Shaitan, Hate Story, and Hunterrr are among Devaiah’s most well-known performances. He was nominated for a Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut for his portrayal in Shaitan, which won numerous awards. In an interview recently, Gulshan commented on participating in the South movie industry,

“Although I watch films in Tamil, Kannada, and Telugu and even understand a few of these languages, I never had the inclination to become an actor in the south. I’ve been getting offers in the south, especially from the Telugu industry. Since 2011, I’ve been getting about four southern projects each year, but it has always been my dream to work in Hindi films. If I ever really look for a change, then I’d probably think of doing some interesting projects.”

8. Kareena Kapoor

Kareena Kapoor discussed how translation would have been a problem to her working in South Indian cinema, saying,

“I truly respect all south films. They have great content, I respect and admire them. There are great actors from Pawan, Rajinikanth sir to Mammooty sir. There is so much great work being done in Telugu or Malayalam films. I don’t understand the language and so I feel the connection will not be there. That’s the only problem.”