“South Indian Cinema and Bollywood should join hands” : Ramesh Sippy

Marveling at the mega success of S.S. Rajamouli’s BAAHUBALI, brilliant filmmaker Ramesh Sippy at the recent IIFA-FICCI Media and Entertainment Business Conclave said that if South Indian cinema and Bollywood come together the two can bring a great revolution in filmmaking. 

Citing example of BAAHUBAL’s success he said, “It’s heartening to see a South Indian film BAAHUBALI joining the highest ranks. It’s a pat on the southern cinema.”

Incidentally sharing a similar view with Ramesh Sippy, Oscar award winning sound designer Resul Pookutty at the first edition of IIFA Utsavam too confided that South Indian cinema is doing a great work and 45 percent of the total revenue of Indian cinema is generated from the southern filmdom.


In fact if we look back during the 50’s and the 60’s it was the South Indian Cinema that ruled the roost. Film production houses like AVM, Prasad Production, Gemini studio, B. Nagi Reddy etc hired Bollywood top stars and remade their hit south films in Bollywood and minted money. 

What’s more the South film production companies maintained a kind of discipline that was not visible in Bollywood as a result many Bollywood movies would fail at box office but movies produced by South film companies were generally hit. 

Top stars like Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor, Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, Jetendra, Sunil Dutt etc considered it a privilege to work in South Banners. The popularity of South Banner could be gauged from the fact that cine buffs thronged cinema halls not by the allure of top stars but the stamp of South Banners was enough to pull in audience. 

People had a trust in ‘Madras’ Movies. Movies like BHABHI, KHANDAAN, RAM AUR SHYAM, CHORI CHORI, PREM NAGAR, DIL EK MANDIR, HATHI MERE SATHI etc. are example of top South Banners ruling Bollywod

Hence it would be great if South Indian Cinema and Bollywood once again come together and reap rich dividends! 

A trend of this has been initiated by South filmmaker Shanker by casting Rajinikanth (South superstar) and Akshay Kumar (Bollywood superstar) in the upcoming film ENTHIRAN 2.

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