From Allu Arjun’s Pushpa to PSPK 27, 6 South films which are being helmed as pan-Indian projects

Admit it or not, SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali franchise has opened the doors for regional cinema on a pan-Indian level. The mammoth box-office success in the country and the massive reach of the action extravaganza in nations like Japan and China has blurred the lines between Bollywood and South cinema, allowing more regional filmmakers to transcend linguistic boundaries with universal content. Taking inspiration from the Prabhas starrer, the makers of KGF have released their Kannada film in multiple languages and bagged fruitful results.

In 2020, several South films which are currently on sets are prepping up for a pan-Indian release in multiple languages. Besides RRR, KGF: Chapter 2 and Prabhas20, Allu Arjun’s Pushpa and Pawan Kalyan’s period actioner with Krish Jagarlamudi will be released in Hindi and all four South languages.

On the occasion of Allu Arjun’s birthday, the makers of his upcoming film Pushpa have released the title poster and the actor’s first look. Touted to be a rustic actioner, the rugged avatar and bearded look of Allu Arjun bagged a phenomenal response from netizens. With a seized van carrying red sandalwood in the background, Allu Arjun’s character Pushpa Raj can be seen sitting amid police in the second poster of the film. Directed by Sukumar, Pushpa stars Rashmika Mandanna as the leading lady and Kollywood superstar Vijay Sethupathi as the antagonist. Along with Telugu and Malayalam, the film will be releasing in Hindi and other south languages.

With the motion poster and a special introductory video of Ram Charan, the makers of RRR have hit the bull’s eye in generating a massive buzz for the film. Elaborated as ‘Roudram Ranam Rudhiram’ in Telugu, the SS Rajamouli directorial is slated for a massive release on January 8, 2021. Set against the pre-independence era of the 1920s, RRR is a fictitious story based on two legendary freedom fighters, Alluri Seetharamaraju and Komaram Bheem. While Ram Charan is playing the former, Junior NTR will be seen as the latter. Besides Bollywood stars like Ajay Devgn and Alia Bhatt, there are quite a few foreign actors in RRR. While English actress Olivia Morris is playing Jennifer, the ladylove of Junior NTR, Irish actors Alison Doody and Ray Stevenson will be seen as the main antagonists.

Despite the outbreak of coronavirus, the team of Prabhas 20 flew down to Georgia in the first week of March and shot some crucial scenes in extreme weather conditions. However, after filming for a few days in Tbilisi, the makers decided to halt the shoot for the safety of the cast and crew and returned to India. Upon returning from the European country, Prabhas and Pooja Hegde have decided to self-quarantine for two weeks. Touted to be a period drama, the untitled film is set against the backdrop of Paris in the 1920s and Prabhas will reportedly be seen as a fortune-teller.

Sandalwood’s 2018 actioner ‘KGF: Chapter 1’ scored a monstrous success at the box-office by accumulating a worldwide gross of over Rs 200 crore. All the dubbed versions have registered massive footfalls and the film’s protagonist, ‘Rocking Star’ Yash became a nationwide sensation. Upbeat with the success, director Prashanth Neel and Co are busy with the shooting formalities of the sequel version titled KGF: Chapter 2. After wrapping up a major portion in Kerala, the cast and crew of KGF 2 have recently shot an extensive schedule at Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad. While Bollywood superstar Sanjay Dutt is essaying the role of the prime antagonist Adheera, ravishing beauty Raveena Tandon will be seen in a pivotal role.

Despite busy with political commitments, Pawan Kalyan is making a comeback to acting by reprising Amitabh Bachchan’s role in the Telugu remake of Pink titled Vakeel Saab. While the courtroom drama is still on floors, the 48-year-old actor has surprised everyone by joining hands with versatile director Krish Jagarlamudi for a mega-budget project. Tentatively titled as Virupaksha, the multilingual film is tipped to be a period drama set in the pre-independence era. Bankrolled by AM Ratnam, the leading lady of PSPK27 is yet to be finalised. However, grapevine suggests that Bollywood actors Jacqueline Fernandez and Arjun Rampal will be seen in prominent roles.

Emerging superstar Vijay Deverakonda has teamed up with Puri Jagannadh for a new-age actioner tentatively titled as Fighter. Starring Bollywood bombshell Ananya Pandey as the leading lady, the first schedule of the pan-Indian project was recently shot in Mumbai. Karan Johar is presenting the sports-drama in Hindi through his Dharma Productions and the cast comprises of Ramya Krishnan and Ronit Roy. Vijay Deverakonda underwent rigorous training in boxing to play his part as a boxer. As per speculations, the title of the film has been changed from ‘Fighter’ to ‘Liger’ and it has been reportedly registered.