“Their movie viewing is almost like a religious activity”: Taapsee Pannu on Southern audiences’ love for cinema

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 21 (ANI): Taapsee Pannu, best known for her powerful performances in films like ‘Pink’ and ‘Thappad’, opened up about the differences between the South Indian film industry and Hindi cinema.

The ‘Dunki’ actress, who has worked in both industries, offered a unique perspective on why audiences in the South treat movie-going as a “religious activity,” while Hindi cinema audiences approach films differently.

In an exclusive conversation with ANI, Taapsee shared her thoughts, saying, “Here, the difference between South and Hindi audiences is that their movie viewing is almost like a religious activity. People are movie lovers, so it’s a ritual there that on the weekend, whether it’s a small movie, a big movie, a hit, or a flop, they still go and watch it. It is a part of their life that on the weekend, they have to watch a film, regardless of how big or small the movie is. In that way, they are much more passionate about watching a film there compared to us.”

“I’ve seen it’s relatively more difficult to pull out a Hindi movie-viewing audience from their houses to go and watch a film. It’s not as much of a strict ritual of sorts. They’re like, if not now, we’ll come back after a few weeks on OTT,” she added.

Taapsee also spoke about the common perception that South Indian films are more successful than their Hindi counterparts.

Speaking about the fact that the perception of South Indian films being more successful might not be entirely accurate, the actress said, “You are only seeing the films that are able to survive beyond those three days. The films coming from the South. The same perspective people in the South, in all the four industries, have about Hindi. There you can make this subject, that subject, this also works, that also works. We can’t make this kind of subject in our industry because it will not work. They think the same thing about Hindi films. So, there, too, films fail. There, too, films don’t work after three, four, five weeks or something, and they’re out of the theatre.”

“It’s just that you don’t get to know about it sitting here. If you’re staying in that state or if you follow that industry and every release that’s happening every Friday, you’ll realize they also have an equal proportion of hits and flops,” she added.

Pannu began her acting career with Telugu film Jhummandi Naadam in 2010 and went on to act in the Tamil film ‘Aadukalam’ in 2011. Directed by Vetrimaaran and starring Dhanush, the film was well-received and won several National Awards. Following that, the actress acted in several Telugu movies.

Her big break in Bollywood came with the 2015 film ‘Baby’, where she starred alongside Akshay Kumar. She gained further acclaim with her roles in ‘Pink’, ‘Thappad’, and ‘Manmarziyaan’, which helped establish her as a leading actress in Hindi cinema.

Meanwhile, Taapsee is starring in the multi-starrer ‘Khel Khel Mein’, which was released on August 15. The film features Akshay Kumar, Ammy Virk, Aditya Seal, and Pragya Jaiswal in lead roles, with Chitrangda Singh making a cameo appearance. Directed by Mudassar Aziz, the film is produced by Bhushan Kumar and other prominent producers.