Tamil filmmaker Atlee Kumar, celebrated for his recent blockbuster "Jawan" starring Shah Rukh Khan and Nayanthara, offered insights on Pan-Indian cinema and the acceptance of Hindi films by the South Indian audience.
During an interactive session at ABP Conclave, Atlee addressed the perception that South audiences are not embracing Hindi movies, stating, "It's not that South people are not watching Hindi films." He emphasised that good content transcends language barriers, citing examples of successful films like "3 Idiots," "KGF," and "Pushpa."
"It's not that South people are not watching Hindi films. We have watched all Shah Rukh Sir films, all Salman Sir films, Hrithik Sir films, 3 Idiots is a biggest hit in the South. So, I think whatever good content comes everyone is seeing it, and as a professional person from the film fraternity or film end. I don’t like the word Pan-India," he said.
Atlee expressed a preference for the term "Indian films" over "Pan-India," emphasising unity in diversity.
The filmmaker highlighted the impact of regional stars gaining recognition nationally, citing instances like Yash in "KGF" and Allu Arjun in "Pushpa."
He dismissed the notion of linguistic barriers, stating that languages are merely modes of communication, and that Indian cinema should be recognised as a collective entity.
"Everyone is seeing whatever good content is coming out from Indian cinema. For example, KGF was the biggest hit in the entire country but, the Hindi audience did not know who Yash was and after watching KGF Yash became an Indian Superstar. The same goes for Allu Arjun in Pushpa and Thalapathy Vijay in Leo and others. So according to my perspective, I think we all are one and we like to call our films Indian films or an Indian filmmaker," said the director.
Discussing "Jawan," Atlee praised Shah Rukh Khan's portrayal and expressed willingness to collaborate with him again on a project surpassing the scale of "Jawan." The film, featuring a stellar cast, was released in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu in September 2023.
Atlee is gearing up for his second Bollywood venture, "Baby John," a remake of his 2016 Tamil blockbuster "Theri." Starring Varun Dhawan, Keerthy Suresh, and Wamiqa Gabbi, the action-thriller is set for a global release on May 31, 2024.