Diaspora disconnect: Bollywood’s patriotic films fail to strike a chord overseas
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Despite the growing wave of nationalistic cinema in India, overseas audiences remain largely unmoved by its fervour. While films like Chhaava, Sky Force, and The Kashmir Files have struck a chord domestically, their overseas performance tells a different story.
Trade experts say that Indian diaspora viewers prefer mainstream entertainers packed with music and drama, steering clear of films perceived as politically charged. With ticket prices significantly higher abroad and no government-backed push for such narratives, the patriotic box office formula that works in India is failing to resonate beyond its borders. For instance, Akshay Kumar-starrer Sky Force grossed a mere ₹13.7 crore overseas while Kangana Ranaut’s Emergency made ₹2.08 crore.
Older titles such as The Kashmir Files and The Kerala Story had earned ₹43.39 crore and ₹15.64 crore respectively. The latest Bollywood blockbuster Chhaava has done better with earnings of around ₹88 crore, but the figure pales in comparison to its domestic gross of over ₹600 crore. This is despite the fact that tickets are priced much higher in several other countries as compared to India.
Also read: How two American companies are calling the shots in Bollywood “Overseas audiences eagerly await the mainstream movies, in fact watching these is one of their favourite things to do. But they steer away from any content that is seen brewing trouble or showing the country in a polarising or controversial light," film producer and distributor Yusuf Shaikh said. Shaikh added that while word-of-mouth from India can sometimes create buzz and drive up box office collections for such nationalist films, overseas audiences largely remain indifferent to content
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