Although aimed at the Indian diaspora, Indian blockbusters are appealing to an increasingly large audience looking for an alternative to Hollywood entertainment.
Last weekend, the walls of the Pathé, CGR and Mégarama cinemas in France shook. The rooms were filled with spectators happy to discover The Greatest of All Timejust released in India. A thriller starring Vijay, one of the biggest stars of Tamil cinema. “It’s his penultimate film,” journalist Francis Cau told BFMTV. “He announced his retirement to go into politics. People are really fired up.”
Avant The Greatest of All Time, movies like Leo, Jawan or Captain Miller have had a similar reception in France. Intended for the Indian diaspora, these epic stories with epic action scenes pass under the radar of the French public. Even if more and more spectators looking for an alternative to Hollywood entertainment are being convinced by this enjoyable and original cinema.
“When I go to see an Indian film, I have a blast (even if) not everything is successful,” says François Cau. “There is often a problem with the special effects, even if we feel that it has evolved a lot in this area in recent years. It doesn’t spoil the pleasure because we see the intention.”
Need for renewal
Ignored or even mocked ten years ago, Indian cinema has been making its mark on the international scene since Covid. The fresco RRRwhich tells the story of two revolutionaries fighting against British colonists and won the Oscar for best song in 2022, was a first gateway for French film buffs. Its last screening, in July, at the Forum des Images, was sold out.
“It’s a cinema that was very discredited until Covid. Covid led people to watch films on platforms and to interest them in cinematographies that they did not know. This was also felt on the production”, analyzes François Cau, who has analyzed Indian cinema for several years in the magazine Mad Movies. “It created an intense dynamism and a need for renewal.”
“I want to say I believe in this craze,” the specialist continues. “But the (French) figures don’t necessarily prove me right. What is certain is that there is a craze among moviegoers.” With nearly 50,000 admissions in October 2023 for Leounofficial remake of History of ViolenceIndian cinema remains for the moment far from the figures of Korean cinema (276,000 admissions for Last train to Busan).
“There was especially a craze around the film Leo“, explains François Cau. “It’s linked to the fact that it’s a Tamil film. The French public, because of France’s history with the former Indian trading posts, and in particular Pondicherry (where Tamil is spoken, editor’s note), is more inclined to see Tamil films. In France, distributors know that they will lose money if they make few Tamil copies.”
John Wick version hindi
This craze is linked to the dynamism of Indian cinema. While Bollywood (films made in Hindi) are losing momentum, Tollywood (in Telugu), Kollywood (in Tamil) and Mollywood (in Malayalam) have taken over. These industries, which offer “another way of approaching violence and social themes” according to François Cau, have surprised and seduced those nostalgic for Hong Kong action cinema from the 1990s.
This competition has pushed Bollywood to reinvent itself and call on the talents of its competitors. Released last year in France, Jawanstarring superstar Shah Rukh Khan, is a testosterone-fueled reimagining of Robin Hood denouncing the policies of conservative Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Produced in Bollywood, the film is directed by a Tamil director. And is one of the best of the moment, according to François Cau.
The release this Wednesday in France of Kill also bears witness to this dynamism. Entirely located in a train, Kill follows the confrontation between a military man and the robbers who kidnapped his fiancée. Highly inventive, this Hindi action film impressed Hollywood and will soon be remade by Chad Stahelski (John Wick). Its release will be one of the most important for an Indian film in France, with more than 120 theaters.
“With Killwe are in a different proposition from what Indian cinema traditionally offers,” underlines Tristan du Laz, who distributes the film with his company Original Factory. “It is an entertainment film that can please a Western audience who loves action films. The film has an international ambition that is completely in line with the standards of the genre and in particular of John Wick.”
Kill also relies on the expertise of Korean choreographer Oh Se-yeong, who learned his trade on Snowpiercer by Bong Joon-ho et Avengers: Age of Ultron. “Kill is extremely effective in its treatment and tension. There is the same tension as in Last train to Busan“, the distributor continues to praise it. And its classic release offers Indian cinema a real chance to reach a wide French audience.
The movies disappear
If Indian films are shown in French multiplexes, they still benefit from limited releases despite the relentlessness of independent distributor Night ED before disappearing completely from the radar. “Once it’s released on the big screen, it’s over. They don’t come out on video or SVOD,” summarizes Antoine Guérin, who with his company Spectrum Films is preparing the Blu-ray release of several gems.
A traditional release would place the film in the media timeline and impose a video and SVOD release on it. However, the Indian film industry, which already targets 1.4 billion people, does not rely on export. “It’s a system that runs on its own. Their financial windfall is primarily domestic,” says Antoine Guérin. “Why bother making deals for a small video market in France?”
15 days streaming
While very few Indian films are available on Blu-ray, you have to go to Netflix and Prime to find some new releases. “They prefer to sell their films to platforms that will take rights on a multitude of territories. But 90% of the time, you don’t know when the films arrive and you know even less that they disappear,” laments François Cau. “Some films stay for 15 days.”
“It’s very difficult to work with Indian rights holders. There’s a cultural problem that I’ve been dealing with for a long time,” adds Antoine Guérin, who is releasing a Blu-ray box set this week dedicated to Ram Gopal Varma, a master of crime fiction whose films have long been invisible in France. It will also be released in 2025 in a remastered version. Sholay“the great Indian action film of the 1970s”. A rare release.
It is difficult to know whether the trend will continue. Kill is a “one-off opportunity,” says Original Factor: “We’re not looking for Indian cinema. We’re looking for original works.” But success remains within reach: after the global success of RRRits director SS Rajamouli is working in co-production with a major American studio. Enough to allow Indian cinema to finally conquer the world.
