Prior Apologies, as Im not the right person to answer this question coz Im a Telugu girl..
Thanks for the post @AngellikeDevil, enjoyed reading varied views, Just jumped in to share my views as a Telugu viewer..
Starting off..with the Myth Busters..
a) Earlier, In A.P/Telangana..theatres were categorised into 'A','B','C' centres..Most of the films in TFI are commercial films,i.e, 5 songs, 4 fights, 3 comedy scenes, 2 leads, 1 item song..Story gayi tel lene as these were the elements that fetched money to the producers..'B', 'C' are the centres that held bastion to these 'Mass-Masala' formulated movies..'A' is the only centre where few sensible, content oriented films played but earned peanuts..Thanx to a normalisation brought in through 'Multiplexes' all these categories vanished..Even the target audience preferences have changed..Now, its either a 'Fresh-feel' or 'Story-Based' kinda flicks are working out..😊
b) Usually, films that fared well markets further by selling-off 'satellite rites' to top rated TV channels, or sell off their making rites to other languages..Remaining set of films, that are either 'flop' or 'regional-centric' {which are as per the taste of particular region, usually not accepted by other regions} or 'Films that are a remake from other languages' are piled as open sources..Star Gold, Set Max buys these left overs, dub them & telecast them with weird titles..I pity those who got to watch them..
c) 'Bahubali' may not be a great film, its a great 'Vision', if observed, it was always promoted as an 'INDIAN Film', its a film that broke the typical notion of every film maker that 'Regional films cannot breakdown world market'..It boosted confidence to all those Productions who wish to place 'Indian Films' in the worldwide genre..About 'Mahanati' Yes, Keerthy Suresh may not have done 100% justice to the character, neither did we all watch the film for her acting..It was a 'Biopic' of 'Mahanati' Savitri, her life story which touched lives of many generations..Its a nostalgic relishment..Also, 'Arjun Reddy' is a film I still keep pulling out my hair as to what it actually is..Well, few said 'Its a Boy thing !! You won't understand', so sliding it off..
In a nut shell, All I wanted to say is every regional film has their own set of audience, its own flavour to it..But the main objective of every film is the same 'ENTERTAINMENT'..Be it any language, if its entertaining I watch it..I love korean dramas more than my Telugu films, I appreciate Bollywood films for their amazing execution of Real-life stories like 'Raazi', 'Airlift', 'Neerja', 'Manjha', 'Pan Singh Tomar' etc etc etc..I listen to Bollywood songs the most..However, In whatever language Im entertained I watch it, listen it, appreciate it, love it..😳
All said & done, There are few glitches which are bizarre in every 'wood' but entire Industry cannot be concluded a 'Crap' 😃
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