South
Indian
filmmakers
have
kept
their
focus
on
the
single-screen
cinemagoer.
They
have
kept
their
finger
on
the
pulse
of
the
single-screen
cinema
fan,
who
goes
to
movies
once
a
month
or
more,
to
forget
his
weekly
chores,
explains
Ambi
Parameswaran.
Kamal
Haasan
and
Abhirami
Gopikumar
in
Thug
Life.
‘South
emerges
the
new
hero
in
India’s
cinema
landscape‘
read
the
headline
of
an
article
that
traced
the
box
office
collection
trends
of
movies
post-Covid].
The
article
also
presented
some
interesting
figures
about
the
number
of
movie
screens
(cinemas)
in
India.
A
question
arises:
How
important
is
moviegoing
in
the
life
of
an
average
Indian?
When
I
started
my
life
in
advertising
in
1979,
I
was
a
client
servicing
executive
who
was
also
tasked
with
the
job
of
media
planning.
Those
were
the
days
of
calculators
and
the
large
bound
editions
of
the
National
Readership
Surveys.
What
fascinated
me
was
the
stark
difference
between
moviegoing
habits
of
South
Indian
and
North
Indian
consumers.
Almost
50
per
cent
of
urban
adults
in
South
India
visited
cinema
halls
every
month.
The
number
for
North
India
was
less
than
15
per
cent.
Those
were
the
days
of
single-screen
cinemas,
and
cinema
advertising
was
a
monopoly
of
a
company
called
Blaze
Advertising.
Again,
going
over
the
list
of
movie
halls
provided
by
Blaze,
one
could
see
that
South
India
had
a
lot
more
and
better
quality
cinemas
than
North
India.
A
trivia:
Probably
the
first
multi-screen
cinema
complex
was
in
what
was
then
called
Mount
Road
in
Madras
(now
Chennai).
Called
the
Safire
complex,
it
had
four
screens;
now,
no
more.
Coming
to
the
disparity
in
viewing
habits,
was
it
just
supply
creating
its
own
demand?
More
cinema
halls,
so
more
people
visiting
cinemas?
Or
was
something
more
at
work?
The
question
of
disparity
in
the
number
of
cinema
halls
between
North
and
South
India
was
brought
out
by
the
abovementioned
article,
too.
For
instance,
Uttar
Pradesh
has
only
601
cinema
screens
(EY-Ficci
Report,
2025),
while
Tamil
Nadu
has
1,158
and
Andhra
Pradesh
plus
Telangana
have
1,771
screens.
The
multiplex
revolution
has
had
no
impact
on
the
difference
between
South
and
North
Indian
screen
population.
Of
the
total
screens
in
India
(9,927),
multiplexes
account
for
only
40
per
cent,
though
their
share
of
collection
is
higher.
Single
screens
still
command
a
significant
presence
in
South
India,
and
that
may
be
a
reason
for
the
resilience
of
the
southern
cinema
business.
When
Covid
hit,
there
was
widespread
gloom
in
the
cinema
industry.
OTTs
were
having
a
merry
time.
Why
will
a
consumer
go
to
a
cinema
and
watch
a
movie
when
he
can
see
it
all,
without
any
trouble
at
home?
The
recovery
of
the
medium
was
expected
to
take
a
long
time.
Incidentally,
the
global
movie
industry
is
yet
to
hit
the
pre-Covid
collection
numbers.
But
cinemas
in
South
India
bounced
back
rather
quickly,
even
delivering
national
hits
one
after
the
other.
Hindi
movies,
which
accounted
for
45
per
cent
of
national
box
office
in
2018,
have
dropped
to
40
per
cent
in
2024;
even
Malayalam
movies
have
moved
from
5
per
cent
to
10
per
cent
in
the
same
period.
Two
questions
remain.
What
did
southern
filmmakers
do
that
Hindi
filmmakers
missed
out
on?
And
what
is
the
reason
behind
this
huge
difference
in
the
South
versus
North
per
capita
screen
availability?
Experts
have
said
that
South
Indian
filmmakers
have
kept
their
focus
on
the
single-screen
cinemagoer.
They
have
kept
their
finger
on
the
pulse
of
the
single-screen
cinema
fan,
who
goes
to
movies
once
a
month
or
more,
to
forget
his
weekly
chores.
And
cinema
fans
have
repaid
them
with
their
wallets.
Northern
moviemakers
have
got
carried
away
with
the
multiplex
glamour
and
did
not
tailor
their
fare.
The
multiplex
audience
was
now
juggling
between
the
sea
of
choices
on
OTT
channels
versus
the
cinema
screen.
It
should,
however,
be
admitted
that
Hindi
did
have
a
revival
moment
in
2023
with
some
mega
hits
like
Jawan
and
Pathan.
Will
Hindi
moviemakers
find
their
magic
touch
again
in
2025?
They
had
not
found
their
rhythm
at
least
till
April
2025.
Coming
to
the
second
question:
Why
is
there
this
huge
difference
in
the
per
capita
availability
of
screens?
Legend
has
it
that
the
Madras
Presidency
had
a
governor
who
encouraged
the
building
of
cinema
halls
as
a
way
of
improving
government
propaganda.
This
led
to
a
spurt
in
the
number
of
cinema
halls
in
the
old
Madras
Presidency.
One
thing
led
to
another.
More
cinemas
led
to
increased
cinemagoing.
This
probably
led
to
more
cinema
halls
being
built.
A
positive
cycle
started
spinning
—
and
has
continued
to
spin.
I
suppose
the
growth
of
cinema
halls
in
the
Madras
Presidency
had
its
own
ripple
effect
in
the
neighbouring
regions
of
Malabar
and
Mysore.
Post-Independence,
both
in
Tamil
Nadu
and
the
erstwhile
Andhra
Pradesh,
the
political
parties
were
cinema
friendly,
and
that
helped.
The
North
did
not
have
such
a
positive
cycle.
And
even
with
the
advent
of
multiplexes,
the
gap
between
South
and
North
has
not
diminished.
All
is
not
lost.
China
had
fewer
cinema
screens
than
India
till
20
years
ago.
In
a
shocking
burst
of
scale,
China
moved
from
just
4,400
screens
in
2005
to
90,000-plus
by
2024.
Will
we
see
this
happen
in
India?
Is
there
a
need
to
create
more
economical
multiplex
experiences?
Is
there
a
need
to
create
innovative
ticketing
options?
Many
questions
remain.
Till
those
are
answered,
let
us
enjoy
the
movies,
masti,
magic
of
south
Indian
cinema.
Ambi
Parameswaran
is
a
bestselling
author,
an
independent
brand
coach,
and
founder
of
Brand-Building.com
Feature
Presentation:
Aslam
Hunani/Rediff