It was Baahubali that popularised the term pan-India in Indian cinematic parlance, after it performed admirably in the Hindi belt as well. In the decade since, several Telugu and Kannada films, from Kantara and KGF to RRR and Kalki 2898 AD, have emulated the feat and been dubbed pan-India hits. But Bollywood has largely been unable to emulate the feat. The collections of Hindi films in the south have remained far below those of South films in the north. A few, like Animal and Jawan, threatened to change that but stopped just short. It took a Dhurandhar to change all that.
Dhurandhar 2’s pan-India success
Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar was a nationwide success, earning over ₹800 crore net in India alone. Naturally, the sequel to the Ranveer Singh-starrer was expected to take the hype even further. And Dhurandhar: The Revenge did not disappoint. The spy thriller earned a staggering ₹1139 crore net in India. To the layman, it may seem the film’s collection is driven by the north, as only ₹70 crore of the total has come from dubbed versions. But the reality is that Dhurandhar 2’s performance has truly been pan-India.
In the five southern states, it has performed well in its original Hindi version, apart from the dubs. According to industry estimates, Dhurandhar 2’s total net collection in the south is ₹250 crore, higher than what RRR managed in the north. In Karnataka alone, Dhurandhar 2 earned over ₹125 crore net. Only four Kannada films have managed more in the state ever. Both of these numbers are records for Hindi films. In Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Dhurandhar 2 earned ₹80 crore net, with half of that coming from the dubbed version. It even outperformed Prabhas’ The Raja Saab in the states, an unthinkable achievement for a Hindi film till a few months ago.
How Dhurandhar’s success differs from south hits
South’s pan-India films follow a different formula for nationwide success, banking on dubbed versions clicking. There are very few Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, or Malayalam speakers in the north. To reach the masses, a Hindi dub is the best choice. That is how Pushpa 2, Baahubali 2, and KGF 2 crossed ₹1000 crore gross. Their Hindi dubs beat even the biggest Bollywood hits at the box office. But for Hindi films, success in the south does not always depend on the dubbed versions. That is largely because Hindi is a second language in most urban centres. The metros and tier 2 cities all showcase Hindi films in the original tongue. The dubbed versions work for penetration beyond the urban centres, which is where Dhurandhar 2 succeeded. That is how it was able to double the hauls of Animal and Jawan in the south.
Pan-India hits from Bollywood in the past
Dhurandhar 2 is, by no means, the first pan-India hit from Bollywood. The Hindi film industry routinely gave nationwide hits before the term was coined. Films like Sholay, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, and Mughal-e-Azam all ran to packed houses across the country. But that was the time when regional films earned far below what Hindi films did. The 21st century changed that. Stars like Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, and later Prabhas, Allu Arjun, and Yash began to compete with Bollywood at the box office. The local films became bigger and the market for Hindi films shrank as they no longer had a universal appeal. In the last few years, mass entertainers like Dhurandhar 2 have challenged that, and films like Ramayana and King will hope to build on that.