How Chennai Express changed the Hindi film market in the south

By Sreedhar Pillai For Bollywood films, Tamil Nadu and Kerala (TK area) are of least priority as their share is the lowest in the domestic market. In fact this territory is by and large Chennai because 75 percent of the box-office share of a Hindi film in TK comes from Chennai and its suburbs. Chennai Express has changed that equation. While it became the biggest grosser in Indian cinema, in the TK area it became a runaway blockbuster netting an unbelievable Rs 8.55 crore in 18 days. It is phenomenal by any standard as the maximum that the previous record holder in TK area - 3 Idiots - could net was only Rs 4.25 cr. It clearly shows that Chennai Express has opened the market for Hindi films in the south is and more areas in Tamil Nadu are falling to the lure of Bollywood. Annamalai, a leading theatre owner said: “Earlier Hindi films used to run only in Chennai city, Coimbatore and Kerala, but now more towns in Tamil Nadu are screening them on a regular basis. I would say Chennai Express is a huge hit because the flavour of the content was similar to mass Tamil films. And the lungi dance song in the film was a huge tribute to our “thalaivar” Superstar Rajinikanth.” However, industry sources say the film did extraordinary business in Tamil Nadu mainly because of the aggressive promotions done by Shah Rukh Khan. He flew down to Chennai along with Deepika Padukone for the finale of ‘Meena Hunt’ organised by a leading silk sari shop which had custom-made the saris worn by Deepika in the film. [caption id=“attachment_1068771” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Poster of Chennai Express.[/caption] The contest was aimed at finding young talent from the three cities Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, who could mimic the accent, dance moves and style of ‘Meena’, Deepika’s character in the film At the event in a five star hotel in Chennai, SRK charmed the audiences and the media, and did things that very few superstars would do to keep his promotions going. A man from the audience at the event told the anchor of the show: “It’s my dream to see Shah Rukh Khan in a sari!” SRK made the man’s bizarre dream come true. Shah Rukh Khan sported a sari as a lungi and did the Lungi Dance along with Deepika Padukone, and the next day’s Tamil newspapers and channels splashed it big. The local media went gaga over SRK’s impromptu act and asked a valid question – which Tamil actor would do such innovative and daring promotions for his own films? No Tamil star does the kind of promotions an average Bollywood star does for his films. In fact, big star contracts in Tamil have a clause saying that the actor will not in any way do public promotions for his films! Shah Rukh during his promotional tours said that the lungi dance was a tribute to superstar Rajinikanth and he has taken the latter’s permission for the song. In one of his media interactions SRK added: “I thought the timing is good. If you don’t pay a tribute to Rajini sir in a film called Chennai Express, then it is incomplete”. Another major factor for the unprecedented success was the delayed release of Tamil superstar Vijay’s Thalaivaa, which was scheduled to hit the screens on the same day as Chennai Express. Some of the screens which had booked Thalaivaa switched to Chennai Express, making its opening bigger. Tamil actor and film historian Mohan Ram who acted in Chennai Express said: “The southern audience has always had a special fondness for garam masala in food and films- the film was pure entertainment. A Hindi film with so much Tamil, the masala becomes local and relished. The icing was the Lungi dance - the Rajini tribute - which made it a blockbuster here. The presence of other known faces like Sathyaraj, Delhi Ganesh and yours truly added to the flavour.” With the mega success of Chennai Express the price of big star Hindi films has gone through the roof. Theatres in rural Tamil Nadu are willing to screen Hindi films as they are commercially viable. In Kerala, the local Malayalam television channels now have special shows on Bollywood. The top Bollywood stars regularly attend gold shop openings in the state and are even featured in local ads. Hrithik Roshan’s Krrish 3 has been sold for TK area, three months ahead of its release, at a whopping price, double of what a normal Bollywood big film gets. The sci-fi sequel is expected to open for Diwali in 300 screens in TK area, with even a Tamil dubbed version. Ironically, the change of mind and taste is all happening in Tamil Nadu which in the past had witnessed an anti-Hindi agitation and non-release of Hindi films. Thanks to SRK and his Chennai Express, Bollywood has finally conquered this last frontier.