Southern filmmakers in demand with SRK announcing his film Jawan with director Atlee

When Shah Rukh Khan officially announced his new film Jawan with Tamil director Atlee recently, the buzz the news generated was astounding. This film, produced by SRK’s home banner, is touted to be a high-octane action film and will be released in five languages namely Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada. Director Atlee has delivered a string of hits in Tamil cinema, especially with top Tamil star Vijay, and Shah Rukh Khan signing him on seems to be validation that Tamil directors who can deliver good films – especially action - can possibly look at making their foray into Bollywood now. But Atlee is not the first Tamil director who has gone to Bollywood. Many Tamil directors have tried their hand at directing Hindi films but it has always been remakes of their own hit Tamil films. Some directors, like A R Murugadoss who directed his super hit Tamil film Ghajini with Aamir Khan in 2008, just did one film and preferred to work in the south industry. Directors Mani Ratnam and Prabhudeva have been more successful with their Hindi ventures but in recent years have slowed down. Now, we seem to see a sort of resurgence of this trend with numerous directors like Atlee, Pushkar and Gayatri, Pa Ranjith and Aishwarya Rajinikanth, setting foot into the Hindi film industry. Today, content in south cinema has been widely appreciated and with OTT and the success of many south films in 2022 pan-India, and many big Hindi films sinking at the box office, Bollywood stars seem to want a change in the format of story-telling and narration on the big screen when it comes to their films. Moreover, there seems to be a desire for new stories and fresh voices who can offer some innovative content for the Hindi-speaking audience. Also, unlike big Bollywood films which take several years to make, Tamil films with big stars usually only take a year and this is seen as an added advantage. Tamil directors and stars work only on one film at a time dedicatedly with strict schedules and this gives for better output and quality of work. Take, for instance, the neo noir action Tamil film Vikram Vedha by directors and husband and wife, Pushkar and Gayatri. The entire film was shot in 53 days. Pushkar and Gayatri were roped in to remake the film in Hindi with Hrithik Roshan and Saif Ali Khan and completed the shoot in about eight months. Director Madhumita’s first film won a Tamil Nadu State Award but it was her fourth venture ‘KD’ that got her national acclaim. She is currently directing the Hindi remake of the successful Malayalam film ‘Angamaly Diaries’ and opines, “I think with the amount of content being made, and with different mediums opening up and in demand, there is just that much more space for more stories, more filmmakers and more unique storytelling. I will always remember what K. Viswanath  the director once told me. He said ‘Madhumita, language may be subjective but emotions are universal. As long as you can make the emotions connect with the audience, you can make a film in any language.’ I think that is truer than ever today. The lines of language have started blurring and there is an audience for all kinds of cinema. And it is such a blessing that producers are recognising this and opening up their doors to directors from across industries.” Award-winning director Pa Ranjith is particular about the type of films he produces and directs and in Hindi, he has been signed on to direct ‘Birsa’, an action drama based on the life of tribal leader Birsa Munda. Meanwhile, Aishwarya Rajinikanth has bagged a Hindi project titled Oh Saathi Chal which will mark her directorial debut in Hindi. Having helmed ‘3’ with Dhanush, ‘Vai Raaja Vai’ and a documentary titled ‘Cinema Veeran’, she feels blessed to have landed on one of the best scripts in Hindi. “The past few years has seen a drastic crossover of talents in Indian cinema. It’s very nice to see that walls are being broken and languages aren’t a barrier when it comes to film-making and artistes are being cast with the script in mind. My producer happens to be a female as well and it felt so good when she approached me and even better to know it wasn’t just because of that she had approached me. Movies today have become pan-India and it’s in the healthiest phase I would say,” she says. But not everyone feels that directors from the Tamil film industry will have it any easier now in Mumbai. G Dhananjayan, producer and Director of BOFTA, feels that when a remake is to be made in Hindi, the stars believe the film should be helmed by a Bollywood director because he/she knows local sensibilities better and they have market appeal. “Any new director is not seen as increasing the value of the film. Many Tamil directors are holding onto the Hindi rights of their films because they want to direct the Hindi version and it’s difficult to roll out the project. If you take Kaithi, Ajay Devgn was clear that he wants to produce it with the people he wants. In Atlee’s case, it wasn’t a remake but he pitched a new story to Shah Rukh and Shah Rukh also wanted to come back with a bang in a larger-than-life mass commercial role,” he feels. “Our directors should also know Hindi well and the Hindi market is tough.” Having said that, talent abounds in the Tamil film industry not just in direction but also in cinematography, music direction and even in stunt choreography like Anbariv and Peter Hein. And collaborations have been happening on those fronts for decades now.  Aishwarya Rajiniaknth has the last word when she says, “Cinema on the whole is evolving and amalgamation of talents and professionals in the field is happening based on content. This is a good trend.” Latha Srinivasan is a senior journalist based in Chennai. Her passion is entertainment, travel, and dogs. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .