A true pan-India film is a story rooted in a specific region, crafted with local actors, that resonates with the tastes of the entire national audience.
For instance, Baahubali, primarily made with Telugu and Tamil actors, is deeply tied to the Telugu film audience yet achieved monumental success nationwide. This makes it a quintessential pan-India film. Dangal also falls in this category.
Similarly, we may say RRR, KGF and Pushpa; all rooted in regional storytelling with regional actors, connected strongly with Hindi audiences.
However, their success was often limited to Hindi and their native language, unlike Baahubali, which transcended multiple regional languages.
The standout example today is Kantara Chapter 1. Its predecessor, released in 2022, also performed exceptionally across languages.
Made purely with Kannada actors (except for Jayaram in a supporting role), Kantara Chapter 1 has struck a chord with audiences in all languages.
On just its fourth day of release, the film earned 15.5 crores nett in Kannada, 11.25 crores nett in Telugu, 23.5 crores nett in Hindi, 6.5 crores nett in Tamil, and 4.75 crores nett in Malayalam. These figures are phenomenal for a film rooted in Kannada cinema.
In contrast, so-called pan-India films like OG and Mirai failed to make an impact in regional languages.
OG, despite featuring Emraan Hashmi in a key role, flopped in Hindi. Similarly, Kannappa, which spent heavily on big stars like Akshay Kumar to appeal to the Hindi belt, was largely ignored by Hindi audiences and other regions alike.
Spending on actors from multiple languages doesn’t guarantee a pan-India film. It’s the content — authentic, regionally rooted, and carried by local actors; that creates the impact.
Kantara Chapter 1 avoids cliches like exposing heroines (seen in Kannappa) or forced item songs (like in Coolie), relying instead on its original storytelling to captivate audiences.
While OG collected 283 crores gross in 11 days, Rishab Shetty’s Kantara Chapter 1, made entirely with a Kannada cast, amassed 308 crores in just three days.
It earned 63 crores in Kannada, 47 crores in Telugu, 74 crores in Hindi, 22 crores in Tamil and 18 crores in Malayalam.
This is the hallmark of a true pan-India film; a remarkable experiment in dedication that transcends script, imagery, or typical elevation.
It’s a lesson for producers who rely on big Hindi stars and bloated budgets, only to burden audiences.
