It appears that remakes of South Indian films in Hindi have struggled to find an audience among Hindi viewers. This sentiment has been present in the industry for some time, and the box office results have now confirmed it. Although there may be some exceptions, such as the upcoming Bhola, it seems that these remakes will face an uphill battle.
One film that did well was Drishyam 2, which was not dubbed into Hindi. The first Drishyam film had a following thanks to satellite television, and this helped create brand value for the second film.
Thus far, remakes like Vikram Vedha, Jersey, and Shehzada, featuring big and mid-level stars like Hrithik Roshan, Shahid Kapoor, and Kartik Aaryan, have failed to generate interest. Even non-cast films like Tadap, Mili, and Hit have fallen flat. The problem with cast films is that collections in B and C centers are limited, as viewers have already consumed the original dubbed versions on various platforms or through downloads.
Recently, Shehzada had very low collections in B and C centers despite offering production value, action, comedy, and a buy-one-get-one-free offer. The original Telugu film Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo was dubbed in Hindi and released after the success of Pushpa (Hindi), featuring the same hero, Allu Arjun. As a result, the Hindi remake had a limited audience.
While there may be exceptions, it appears that the road has come to an end for South Indian remakes in Hindi cinema. Instead, filmmakers may need to make mass cinema that appeals to Northern audiences, rather than recycling South Indian mass cinema.
The biggest blockbusters in India have been rural films, and the South Indian industry has talented filmmakers capable of delivering such content. However, the Hindi industry has failed to do so in recent times, and this is reflected in the lack of audience interest in remakes.