Regional cinema's box office struggle: Why Marathi, Bengali, Punjabi films are losing out

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. The regional language film industry has been struggling to stay afloat, producing only a handful of hits such as Bohurupi (Bengali) and Baipan Bhari Deva (Marathi) even during the prolonged absence of Bollywood blockbusters. Experts said audiences in these markets, like Hindi movie viewers, have also become selective and few films have been able to meet their expectations.

“It hasn’t been a great time for films made in smaller regional languages. Like Hindi, the successes have been few and far between," said Rahul Puri, managing director of Mukta Arts and Mukta A2 Cinemas. “Television networks are no longer buying satellite rights the way they used to." There have been exceptions, though.

Marathi films Navra Maza Navsacha 2 and Dharmaveer 2 earned over ₹20 crore and ₹15 crore, respectively, while Punjabi comedy Carry on Jatta 3 clocked in almost ₹50 crore in the domestic market. However, the overall scenario remains dull. “These languages have not really managed to take advantage of bigger industries like Hindi not doing well, nor have they filled the gap left by Bollywood titles not releasing consistently," Puri added.

Experts emphasised that much like the producers of films in Hindi and southern languages, the makers of Punjabi, Marathi and Bengali films suffered from an over-reliance on satellite TV and digital rights, avenues that are now providing dwindling returns. Streaming platforms had started to snap up films during the initial phase of enthusiasm in the Indian market and this led star prices to escalate significantly. However, over time, the content didn’t live up to audience expectations and interest in them started to fade.