'Kuberaa' To 'Vaathi' And 'Thozha': Will Tamil-Telugu Bilinguals Ever Work?

On Wednesday, June 25, producers of Dhanush’s Kuberaa put out a poster celebrating the film grossing ₹100 crore, just five days after release. It’s a hit by any standards, and it was also an achievement to note how the film collected $2.5 million (₹.22 crore) from just the US market alone. But just as numbers started to roll in on various social media platforms, it was highlighted by industry observers that the film collected more than 75 per cent of its income from its Telugu version. This is odd, considering the film is being led by Dhanush, a Tamil industry superstar, even if the producers, director and supporting cast are primarily from the Telugu film industry.

A quick look at older films such as Sir (2023, Vaathi) and Oopiri (2016, Thozha) would reveal that one of the two versions in a bilingual often ends up succeeding. As for films like Sivakarthikeyan’s Prince (2022) and Mahesh Babu’s Spyder (2017), both their Tamil and Telugu versions ended up as box-office flops when attempts were made to make the films stand alone as two separate entities.  

But what was once seen as a foolproof method to double a film’s income now doesn’t seem like a winning formula. Why have bilinguals gone out of fashion, even when pan-Indian films dubbed into multiple languages continue to work? Or have they never worked in a culturally diverse country like India?

The OTT Market 

Box-office analyst Sreedhar Pillai believes one of the reasons behind the bilingual woes we observe today is the OTT market. With films available on streaming in under a month, the audience does not feel the need the watch a movie in the theatre, especially when they can watch it with subtitles or in a language of their choice in a short period. He explains, “The nativity is always compromised in one of the two versions of a bilingual. In Kuberaa, the film takes place mainly in Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. We also see Telangana as the backdrop in certain portions. Apart from Dhanush, its other actors are primarily seen as Telugu performers, and all this leads to a doubt whether the film is a 'pure bilingual.' In such cases, people are willing to wait for the OTT release.”

Dhanush in a still from 'Kuberaa'

He also notes that apart from a small difference in runtime, there wasn’t any obvious difference in the two versions, making the Tamil audience feel like the film was rooted in their culture. Pillai says, “It’s not the case of Mani Ratnam’s Yuva (Aayutha Ezhuthu in Tamil) or Raavan (Raavanan in Tamil), which were bilinguals in the truest sense of the term. Not only was the cast separate, but even the locations of both films were shot to look different. If Yuva was set in Kolkata, Aayutha Ezhuthu (2004) was set in Chennai. This signals to the viewer that they have their local version, instead of a partly dubbed film.” 

But the issue is when the film tries to portray itself as a film that’s as Tamil as it is Telugu. “It becomes the duty of the makers to keep reiterating that the film has been shot in both languages. If viewers sense that there's a lack of local flavour, they will only look at it as a dubbed film, which results in a much smaller opening for a film in the second industry.” 

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Vikram in 'Raavanan'

Producer and distributor G. Dhananjayan has spoken at length about why this previously cost-effective method of film production isn't effective anymore. He says, “Recent examples are the two Dhanus-starrers. Both films (Sir and Kuberaa) were produced by Telugu producers and made by popular directors in Telugu. However, these films, which worked well in Telugu, did not get the expected success in Tamil as they were seen more as Telugu here and were not treated on par with a straight Tamil film made by a Tamil filmmaker, despite featuring Dhanush.”

He adds, “The same happened to Sivakarthikeyan's film Prince, which was initially planned as a bilingual with a Telugu producer and Telugu director. The film did not work in both languages. Karthi tried the same with Thozha (Tamil) and Oopiri (Telugu) with Nagarjuna. Again, the film worked well in Telugu, but not equally well in Tamil. The cultural differences, primary casting from Telugu (industry), and the making of the film, which suits the Telugu audience, will not connect with the Tamil audience. Producers who assume that casting popular lead actors from both languages might make the film work are making a mistake.”

Tamannaah, Karthi and Nagarjuna in 'Thozha'

Instead, Dhananjayan believes it's feasible to release a dubbed version of the film in multiple languages without making or marketing it as a bilingual. He points to the unique success formula of Dulquer Salman’s Lucky Bhaskar, which wasn't dubbed Malayalam, the star’s home base, at the time of release. 

He says, “The expectations are managed better in the alternate markets, and the film, if it connects as a dubbed version, may bring in collections without any additional marketing or making costs. Lucky Bhaskar (2024) was made only in Telugu and released in dubbed versions in Tamil, Malayalam, and Hindi. The film worked well not just in Telugu but also in its dubbed versions, as there were no expectations in these markets. Their strategy of not announcing it as a bilingual or trilingual enabled them to focus only on one (Telugu) language and make it well with no compromises to meet the expectations of other language audiences.” The director of Lucky Bhaskar, Venky Atluri, had previously made Vaathi/Sir with Dhanush as a bilingual. 

What Goes Missing

Dhananjayan also draws attention to the repeated reasons why only one version of the two films gets the desired response from the viewer. He says, “Tamil and Malayalam audiences look for rooted, native, and emotional content, while Telugu audiences look for larger-than-life stories with huge production value. Similarly, they (Tamil audiences) also look for relatability, with popular actors from their industry cast in character-oriented roles. However, Telugu audiences accept other-language actors for character roles. Hence, it's common to find many Tamil and Malayalam actors working on Telugu films now, such as VTV Ganesh, Jayaprakash, 'Aadukalem' Naren, Nasser, Lal, Samuthirakani and more.” 

He cites demography and duration as additional factors that are just as important. “And if Tamil audiences look for fast-paced films (less than two hours and 30 minutes), the Telugu audiences are fine with longer films.” 

Newer Markets

But instead of looking at a film from the production side of things, Pillai urges one to look at why bilinguals are conducive for superstars to expand their market. Even though they might not have worked big in Tamil, both Sir and Kuberaa played a big role in creating a market for Dhanush in Telugu. He says, “Now, when he releases his next film Idly Kadai, he can be sure to get a bigger price for it from the Telugu theatres, even though it is a Tamil film. It might not work for both industries, but for the star, it’s a safe way to create a new market, with the safety net of your home market giving it viability. At least from that perspective, it’s a win-win to keep trying for bilinguals.”