Vikram Vedha to Drishyam 2: Have South remakes become passe? – Exclusive – Times of India

Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan’s Vikram Vedha saw a major drop in collection on Monday. Even though the makers have claimed that the film has earned in excess of 70 crores with India’s nett figures at 43 crores right now. Regardless of the reviews and average collections, trade experts feel that audience has access to the Tamil original featuring R Madhavan and Vijay Sethupathi on digital platforms and therefore, a large section of the viewers are not ready to watch the remake. While it might be a little early to say that the remake trends in Bollywood may well die down, but trade analyst Komal Nahta feels that may well happen. He said, “It looks like that. Films like RRR, KGF, or Pushpa are dubbed in Hindi and released simultaneously. Because the content is available on every platform. Subtitles ke saath dekh liya, khatam (The audience watches these films with subtitles and that’s the end of the matter).”

It might just be that Vikram Vedha’s business took a beating for the same reason. Nahta elaborated, “That’s got to be the reason 100 per cent. Otherwise, why are people saying ‘lovely movie’ but there are no collections? Nobody is going to the theatres to watch it because lakhs and lakhs of people have already watched it. The remake market will take a huge hit.” He further revealed, “At present, the remake rights of South films can be sold for anything between 1 to 10 crores.”

The digital revolution and the pandemic have been responsible for the dismal showing of films at theatres. Almost all content from the South that was created during pre-pandemic times, is easily available on OTT platforms right now. Smaller OTT channels and producers have bought an entire bouquet of films featuring prominent South stars, dubbed these movies in Hindi and released them on their channels. And it’s reduced the audience pool. Trade analyst Atul Mohan reasons, “Till about 5 years back, remakes held a novelty factor. The actors too had the fancy to reprise the roles as they felt remakes were a safe bet to ensure BO success. But post-pandemic the scenario has changed. The invasion of OTT platforms in our living rooms, mobiles and gadgets has changed everything. You now have access to unlimited content from the globe. During the lockdown, it was the gamut of South content that was consumed by Indians all over. Also, most of the content is dubbed in Hindi and available for free on YouTube. A few FTA (Free To Air) GECs are offering same content and getting good TRPs also. Now if any actor announces that he or she is doing a remake their fans watch the original and have already consumed the product that will be offered to them. Once they watch the original they decide whether the remake will be worth their time and money. For the large part of the industry, its not good sign.”

Such has been the surge in popularity for South dubs that it’s become an independent market in itself. South films are dubbed not just in Hindi, but in other regional languages for North, West and East India. Pandit Bahgeati Semwal, who is a veteran of the dubbing industry, had acquired South film rights for other languages for decades now. He revealed, “The reason Vikram Vedha didn’t draw big numbers is because the remake market has taken a big hit. Most top stars down South now dub for their movies in other languages, too”. What that entails for the audience is that, the dubs are no-longer nondescript recreations. They actually retain the verve and drama of the original.

Producer Girish Johar reasoned, “Thanks to the pandemic, people have gotten used to the idea of consuming content in different languages, all while they’re sitting at home. Many viewers who would previously not subscribe to watching South films, do that now regularly. As for the market of remakes, it’s a wait-and-watch situation. People watched the Tamil Vikram Vedha online. We should now closely monitor what will happen to Ajay Devgn’s Drishyam 2, which is a remake of Mohanlal’s Malayalam hit, as well. Whether the audience turns out at the theatres to watch the Hindi version will have to be seen.”