Telugu film Dasara to see all-India release on 30 March

New Delhi: Dasara, a Telugu-language action drama film written and directed by debutant Srikanth Odela, starring Nani and Keerthy Suresh, will build on the southern film wave as it releases in cinemas on 30 March. The film will be dubbed in Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi.

Both Telugu and Tamil film industries outdid Bollywood in 2021, partly because big ticket Hindi films started releasing only by November as theatres were closed because of the pandemic. According to trade experts, Telugu cinema led the pecking order with box office collections of ₹1,200 crore in 2021, followed by the Tamil film industry at ₹800 crore and Hindi at ₹700 crore. Ticketing site BookMyShow stated that Telugu and Tamil movies, together, accounted for almost 50% of total tickets sold on the platform that year. In a normal year, Hindi films usually generate 60% of the box office collections.

Bollywood has often been accused of mimicking Hollywood with its current focus on urban, multiplex audiences, the slice-of-life dramas and bold themes. Andhadhun, Gully Boy, Thappad and many others—these films pretty much shunned the kind of mainstream, escapist cinema that finds universal appeal in small towns. That created a window of opportunity for south Indian language films, particularly the Telugu film industry.

The past few months have seen several Telugu actors breach linguistic and geographical borders. Prabhas, who already has the Baahubali franchise to his credit, featured in Radhe Shyam and has Adipurush and an untitled film with Deepika Padukone lined up. Vijay Deverakonda’s Liger, produced by Karan Johar, and SS Rajamouli’s RRR, starring Ram Charan and Jr. NTR, were other titles that will saw Telugu actors crossover, albeit supported by dubbed releases and exhaustive marketing campaigns.