The 'pan-Indian' strategy of Telugu cinema

As the gap for the theatrical window closes in even on big-ticket films, the only way forward appears to be crossover cinema

When you think of ‘pan-India’ as a phenomenon, it is invariably the Baahubali films that come to mind. Industry experts and trade pundits often attribute S.S. Rajamouli’s spectacle to having changed the landscape of Indian cinema and having broken the language barriers to emerge as, perhaps, the first true-blue product of pan-Indian cinema. As was the case with Kannada cinema’s K.G.F: Chapter 1 (2018). One of the major outcomes to have emerged from both franchises is: brand building and marketing outside its respective regional markets.