An oft-repeated statement in Hyderabad film circles underlines the enthusiasm with which the audience in the Telugu States patronises films across languages. It is widely believed that if a film’s promotional material, director and star cast intrigue movie lovers, they will not hesitate to make a trip to the theatres.
At the time of writing this feature, the Telugu film Irumudi, the Telugu and Tamil versions of DC and Vishwanath & Sons continued to draw enthusiastic audiences to cinema halls. The Malayalam film Bethlehem Kudumba Unithad opened to a warm response and the theatrical release of its Telugu dubbed version was round the corner. And the Kannada film Toxichad opened to mixed reviews.
Telugu, Hindi and English films had always thrived in Hyderabad owing to its multicultural ethos. Post lockdowns, the new normal has been to witness theatrical releases of films in different languages, thanks to most films being subtitled for a country-wide theatrical release and digital streaming. In addition to Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada, occasionally Hyderabad theatres also screen Bengali, Marathi and Assamese films.
The Telugu dubbed version of the Tamil film ‘Vishwanath & Sons’ is a box office success in Hyderabad
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
The rise of anime
In addition, there are anime titles that take traditional distributors by surprise. Case in point is how Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie: Infinity Castle played to packed houses in Hyderabad with shows beginning as early as 5.30a.m. at Prasad’s multiplex and RTC Cross Roads’ Sandhya theatre, accompanied by large cutouts. The film was widely released across India in Japanese, English, Telugu, Tamil and Hindi, tapping into fan frenzy for anime.
All this can be viewed as a natural progression of the times we live in and the rapidly-expanding horizons of a globally-connected audience. But, this innate sense of patronising films in theatres is in the DNA of the audience in this region.
As producer Elahe Hiptoola observes, “Life revolved around movies for us. Hyderabad, by way of having a population that speaks Telugu, Hindi, Urdu and English, has always patronised cinema in Telugu, English and Hindi.”
She recalls how theatres used to be built along bus routes of erstwhile undivided Andhra Pradesh, and the Nizam distribution territory contributing to a chunk of the revenue. She mentions some of the iconic venues. While Sangeet and Sterling predominantly screened English films, Anand and Skyline began with English and later included Hindi cinema. Theatres in RTC Cross Roads and Himayat Nagar catered to Telugu cinema while theatres in Secunderabad catered to an English-speaking audience.
The indie beginning
Elahe recalls how Nagesh Kukunoor’s indie film Hyderabad Blues (1998), was lapped up in theatres here. “It was a niche film and at a time when multiplexes were yet to make inroads, it was a task to draw footfalls in large single screens. Yet, a single show of the film ran for 33 weeks in the city.”
Back then, if there was a gap, it had to do with the lack of subtitles for other language films. In recent years, with that being taken care of and homebound audiences during lockdown becoming habituated to Indian and global cinema, language isn’t a deterrent.
This isn’t to say that all is well with the business of cinema. In the last two years, there have been several dry spells characterised by dismal footfalls in theatres. Summer of 2026 witnessed several box office duds and filmmakers postponed their releases to avoid clashing with the IPL season. However, the last two months have witnessed consecutive box office successes of at least eight to nine films.
Simultaneously, the introduction of large format screens with cutting-edge sound systems is also helping to cater to an audience that wants a premium movie-watching experience. When big-ticket English films such as The Odysseyor Spider-Man: Brand New Dayarrive in theatres, there’s a scramble for tickets at the Allu Cinemas’ Dolby Cinema screen, the PCX large screen at Prasad’s and EPIQ at ART Cinemas, to name a few.
Quality matters
Director Sailesh Kolanu puts things in perspective, discussing why language has ceased to be a barrier. “If the promotional content is interesting and the actors make an effort to promote the film, it creates an interest irrespective of language. The presence of A-list stars can promise good openings, but we have also seen a number of dubbed films such as Premalu (from Malayalam) or Youth (from Tamil), featuring young and new actors, drawing the audience.”
Manjummel Boys is among the several Malayalam films that tasted success in Hyderabad
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
He urges directors who aim to release their films in other languages to pay attention to the quality of dubbing. “Usually, the task of dubbing is given out on contracts or subcontracts. But it helps to check whether the voices suit the actors and if the intonations are right. For instance, while dubbing HIT: The Third Case, I was particular about the quality of dubbing in Hindi, Tamil and other languages, checking the voice quality, dialogues and modulation.”
Sailesh argues that, apart from the money spent on tickets, the audience values time. “For any film, one has to spend half a day, including the commute and viewing time. The audience is willing to patronise films in theatres; it is up to us to deliver content that is worth their time.”
Published – September 04, 2026 12:25 pm IST
