Nani denies Salman's South ignores Bollywood claim: How did they turn superstars?
Nani went on to talk about Khan's superstardom. He shared that the actor's films are not just films but reflect his cultural relevance in a country which partially grew up on films. "We have all watched so many of Salman's films. Movies like 'Hum Aapke Hain Koun..!' hold cultural importance there. Didi Tera Devar Deewana and other songs — we used to play them at our weddings," he continued.advertisementNani said those who say the South audience doesn't like Bollywood films are mistaken. He said Hindi cinema is the first love of the audience, and it is only now that the audience in the North has started expressing their fondness for the South films, which wasn't the case earlier."That (Hindi cinema) is original; this (Southern cinema) came later. The love South cinema is receiving now is recent. But the love Bollywood has received in the South has been there for decades. If you ask anyone there, 'What is your favourite Hindi film?', they will have childhood memories of Amitabh Bachchan. They'll talk about so many films," he explained.Nani also mentioned the popular Hindi films from the '90s and said, "We always watched Hindi films — 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai', 'Dil Toh Pagal Hai' were blockbusters in Hyderabad and other southern states. Everyone is now lapping up South films, but Hindi cinema was always embraced across the country."During a media interaction for 'Sikandar' which was released earlier this year, Salman Khan was asked to comment on the popularity of South Indian movies in the North and why Bollywood films are not doing that well at the box office.advertisementThe 59-year-old blamed the loyal audience for this lack of popularity. He said the audience down South is so loyal to their superstars that they don't express the same amount of love for anyone else, and therefore Bollywood films don't work there."When my film is released there, it doesn't get the numbers because their fan following is very strong. I'll walk on the street, and they'll say, 'Bhai, Bhai', but they won't go to the theatres. The way we've accepted them here hasn't happened there. Their films do well because we go and see them — like those of Rajinikanth Sir, Chiranjeevi garu, Suriya or Ram Charan. But, their fans don't go to see our films," he said.Khan's 'Sikandar' didn't do well at the box office. Meanwhile, Nani's 'HIT 3' seems to have attracted just the right amount of buzz among the audience. The action thriller is directed by Sailesh Kolanu, and also features Srinidhi Shetty, Adil Pala, Rao Ramesh, and Maganti Srinath, among others, in important roles. It is scheduled to hit the screens on May 1.
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