‘Audiences in south don’t watch our movies’: Salman on why Bollywood can’t go pan-India

Superstar Salman Khan says while films of stars like Rajinikanth, Chiranjeevi, Suriya, and Ram Charan perform well in the Hindi belt, the audiences in the south region don’t watch Bollywood movies and its stars in theatres.

The actor said he has a fan following in the south where the fans call him by his nickname of “Bhai” on the streets but the admiration does not translate into theatrical footfalls for Hindi movies.

Also read: ‘God decides my fate’: Salman Khan on Bishnoi gang death threats

Teaming up with directors from south

“When my film is released there, it will not get the numbers because their fan following is very strong. I’ll be on the street, and they will say, ‘Bhai, Bhai’, but they will not go to the theatres. We've accepted them (south stars) here, and their films do well because we go and see them, like those of Rajinikanth garu or Chiranjeevi garu or Suriya or Ram Charan. But their fans do not go and see our films,” Salman said during a media interaction.

The 59-year-old actor, who in the past has worked with south directors like Prabhu Deva and has collaborated with AR Murugadoss for his upcoming Eid release “Sikandar”, will next work with Atlee, who made his Hindi cinema debut with Shah Rukh Khan’s “Jawan”.

The film, however, is delayed due to budget issues. “He has written a very big-budget action film... I’m doing another big action film after ‘Sikandar’ with my elder brother in the industry, Sanjay Dutt. That’s rustic action,” Salman said in response to a question from PTI.

Pan-India film expensive endeavour

Asked whether pan-Indian films, with stars from both sides, were the way forward, Salman said it would be an expensive endeavour and requires “the right script”.

“The thing is money... They also charge and we also charge, it is a big responsibility. For instance, in a film like ‘Ramayana’, they can cast everyone from here and there (south). I've worked with directors, actors and technicians from the south in many films... If we had 20,000 to 30,000 theatres, we would have killed Hollywood,” Salman said.

“People who were making serious films have shifted to action or comedy because this is what is working right now... We are going wrong on the budget. Once our budgets are controlled, everything is going to be okay.” According to the actor, writers and filmmakers, who have studied abroad, often lack the emotional depth in their stories.

Also read: Salman Khan was first target for Bishnoi gang not Baba Siddique: Report

‘Need to make film for audiences’

“We need emotion, action and romance. We need a whole package because for two-and-half hours we need all these things. They are writing for themselves, and the directors and producers are competing with each other, thinking, ‘I’ll show you how to make a film’. You've got to make the film for the audience.”

He is hopeful that his movie, “Sikandar”, directed by AR Murugadoss, will do well in theatres. “The film is about a king (like figure), who can be from any part of the country... The story is basically about a good man who will be a good man anywhere in the world.”

(With agency inputs)