Thugs of Hindostan to speak in Tamil, Telugu; here’s why dubbed content is gaining prominence in the South

Bollywood leaves no stone unturned to appeal to the masses. Dubbing is one such way that helps movies reach a wider audience. Banking on this strategy, Aamir Khan and Amitabh Bachchan multi-starrer film Thugs of Hindostan will be dubbed in Tamil and Telugu.

Yash Raj Films on Wednesday released a video of Amitabh and Aamir announcing the film’s release in Tamil and Telugu.

The southern states have the highest per capita movie consumption in India, and Bollywood misses no chance to get mileage from this circle.

Apart from releasing films in these circles, Hindi movies are dubbed in local languages to widen their mass reach. More and more filmmakers are opting for dubbing due to the growing importance of the regional film market.

Film trade experts say mass entertainers appeal to moviegoers in these territories. For example, the pan-India appeal of cricketer MS Dhoni helped his biopic MS Dhoni: An Untold Story score better in this region. Its dubbed Tamil version minted about Rs 6 crore in Tamil Nadu, a feat for a dubbed Hindi film in the state.

A market that was earlier dominated by the Khans of Bollywood — Aamir, Shah Rukh and Salman — is also accepting the lesser-known stars in this region. Hrithik Roshan’s Krrish 3 collected Rs 2 crore on the first day of its release from its Tamil and Telugu versions.

Filmmakers have also realised that films that are high on action and those in the historical genre work well across states. Also, nativity and cultural sensibilities are key factors. Star power, grandeur of films alone won’t help to draw South cinegoers to the theatres.

The dubbing industry

Dubbing English films in local languages is increasing Hollywood’s share in India’s overall revenue collection. However, dubbing is not restricted to Hollywood. There are lot of other languages that are in the picture, especially southern languages. This resulted in dubbing becoming an industry by itself.

Having a good voice alone is not enough for a dubbing artiste. The ability to act, good memory, creativity and a sense of synchronizing are the additional qualities that are required.

Dubbing a film could cost anything between Rs 5 lakh-Rs 15 lakh, depending on the marketing, number of characters, the language and whether songs also have to be translated.