What does it take to make a movie a pan-Indian success?

Abstract

The spectacle of the Pan-Indian film is a relatively recent cultural and commercial phenomenon, with the term first gaining widespread usage following the release of Baahubali: The Beginning in 2015. Since then, the success of films like Baahubali: The Conclusion, KGF: Chapter 2, and RRR has redefined the Indian cinematic landscape. These three films alone have grossed an estimated ₹3,300 crores at the box office, a benchmark previously unparalleled in the history of Indian cinema.

While the term “Pan-Indian” gained traction only in the last decade, earlier films like Lagaan, Bombay, and Nayakan set precedents by transcending regional boundaries. These earlier examples often featured cross-regional casting and themes that resonated with a pan-national audience, albeit without the explicit label of Pan-Indian.

A defining characteristic of the current generation of Pan-Indian films is their positioning as “event films.” These are not just cinematic releases but social phenomena, marked by massive media coverage, fan mobilization, and strategic multilingual releases. Watching these films becomes a shared cultural event, especially due to their visual grandeur, epic narratives, and emotive storytelling that cuts across linguistic divides (Chandekar & Chandekar, 2023).

Interestingly, the term “Pan-Indian” is predominantly applied to South Indian language films—especially Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam. In contrast, Hindi-language films are often not labeled as such, possibly due to the perceived pan-national status of Hindi as a default lingua franca. This discrepancy points toward the changing dynamics of cultural identity, as regional film industries assert themselves on a national stage and redefine what it means to make an “Indian” film.

This paper aims to explore the socio-cultural and economic factors contributing to the success of Pan-Indian films, examine how these films blur regional identities, and investigate how audience preferences are evolving in the era of spectacle-driven cinema.