The year that went by served as a reality check to the Hindi film industry which has earned the repute of the world’s largest producer of films since 2007. The release of a number of big-budgeted films was held back as cinema halls were oscillating between shutdowns and reopenings from March 2020 to January 2022. Enduring two years of whipping from the pandemic, the makers had their high hopes pinned on 2022.
While only five Hindi films managed to cross Rs 100 cr nett mark at the box office, the films from the south pulled the audience in huge numbers. The success of regional cinema shattered the myths, calculations and theories that the trade pundits were busy floating following Bollywood's poor performance at the box office.
Taking a step back from the usual Year Ender grind, here's a look at what was being discussed beyond the headlines in 2022:
- Affordable rates to lure the masses:
The biggest lesson to learn from 2022, according to trade experts is to work towards making cinema viewing affordable for a larger audience. The success of the retrospective on Amitabh Bachchan's 80th birthday and Indian Cinema Day. On both occasions, tickets were sold at a flat rate of Rs 75-80. It proved that if the admission rates are affordable, viewers will come to watch Big B's almost half-a-century-old film Deewaar while Ram Setu, Thank God and Raksha Bandhan struggled to find an audience.
- Sun rising from the South:
Of late, the popular view is that the content that comes from the South is better than what is being produced in the Hindi film industry. In 2022, cinemagoers preferred to watch a number of films in different languages. Surprisingly, the audience lapped up culturally alien films like Kantara, Karthikeya 2, RRR, and Ponniyin Selvan 1.
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The commercial success of these films made Bollywood hail the rising sun of the South film industry. As Rana Daggubati rightly said that five years back people used to mock the South film industry but today they are thronging cinema halls to see a South film. Echoing his sentiment, Kamal Haasan too in a group interview said, "The sunshine according to the way the commercial world moves." The success of South films also suggests the return of the idea of masculinity that those films project.
- Return of the HERO:
Following the success of South cinema, film critics and cinephiles have expressed concern over how it will affect the progress that Hindi cinema has made over decades portraying its leading men. Actors like Rajkummar Rao and Ayushmann Khurrana are the poster boys of unconventional, vulnerable men onscreen. They bring in relatability to the story while pushing the boundaries with their film choices.
While filmmakers in Bollywood are in awe of the numbers that films from the South managed to register at the box office, the return of larger-than-life gruff guys can't be denied. If the fear of a few critics and trade experts comes true, then it possibly can also dent the rising numbers of women-centric films.
- Bollywood grasping at straws:
In 2022, Indian cinema became a lot more multi-polar than it already was. Bollywood serving to the larger part of the country and beyond struggled to captivate the audience. Nothing was striking and according to popular views, complacency and lack of originality are the main reasons for this sorry state of affairs where the Hindi film industry is in the doldrums.
From makers to actors, everyone is figuring out how to regain the lost connection with the audience who has world-class entertainment a click away. In the process, a slew of remakes is in the making. The craze of talents from the South is spilling in like never before. Superstar Shah Rukh Khan green lighting Tamil filmmaker Atlee's Jawan and roping in Nayanthara and Vijay Sethupathi seems just the beginning of crossovers and crazy combinations that the audience is likely to witness in times to come.
- Reasonable stars:
The illogical fees demanded by the stars remained a topic of discussion throughout this year. Karan Johar once said that he is "fed up" with actors increasing their fees despite failures. His counterpart from the South, SS Rajamouli recently echoed the same sentiment and said when the corporate studios started paying high fees to actors, and directors, to some extent it doused the fire in their bellies.
In the good old days, a star's remuneration would be equal to the price of one major circuit. The norm, however, got discontinued when the corporate rule came into the picture. While the corporate moneybags deserted the scene, a few stars are still stuck to their impractical demands.
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Akshay Kumar up until 2022 was considered the most bankable star. The superstar, who is the highest-paid actor, delivered four consecutive flops this year in the form of Bachchhan Paandey, Samrat Prithviraj, Raksha Bandhan and Ram Setu. The fate of Akshay's films hints at the waning shines of the brightest of stars and the rise of an evolved audience who is not ready to shell out their hard-earned money for films that don't deserve it. Catching the pulse of the audience, Akshay has promised to cut his fees by 40 per cent to reduce film costs. It is a welcome change but more needs to follow the suit.
The humungous success of Kantara yet again proved that a popular star can only help bring in the opening day numbers and initial footfalls. And, the rest as they say -- content is the KING.
