Sanatana Dharma Stories No More A Safe Bet?

The underwhelming openings for Nagabandham, starring Virat Karna, has reignited the debate over whether films rooted in Sanatana Dharma are beginning to lose their commercial appeal. Mounted on a reported budget of nearly Rs 100 crore, the socio-fantasy drama has managed to collect only around Rs 4 crore share and in its first two days including Rs 30 lakhs from Hindi heartland, is receiving a mixed response from audiences and has a long way to go to recover its investments.

However, filmmaker-producer M.S. Raju believes it is too early to draw sweeping conclusions."It would be premature to say that films based on Sanatana Dharma no longer work. Any film succeeds or fails because of its script. It has nothing to do with Hinduism or its revered beliefs. A good story will always find an audience," says Raju.

However, even big stars like Balakrishna and Pawan Kalyan couldn’t pull in crowds for their Hinduism based films like ‘Akhanda 2’ and ‘Hari Hara Veera Mallu, while devotional film Kannappa also couldn’t spring box office magic in Hindi heartland. “We make Hindu warrior movies to attract North Indian audiences since they like such films but it has failed badly in recent times," says a senior producer, speaking on condition of anonymity, and argues that only a handful of films have successfully translated this formula into widespread commercial success. 

"Karthikeya 2 and HanuMan connected strongly with Hindi audiences, but several others, including Hari Hara Veera Mallu and Akhanda 2, could not replicate that success. While Mirai did well in Telugu and not in North India. Kannappa wasn't a big winner either. Surely, the industry risks overusing the formula, and audiences may eventually stop finding it fresh," he says. According to him, the repeated use of Hindu deities during action sequences has become a convenient crowd-pleasing device.

However, director Dolly begs to differ. “Movies are prominently featuring deities such as Lord Shiva, Hanuman, Lord Narasimha and Lord Krishna as part of their storytelling. Even the animated film ‘Maha Avatar' struck gold at the box office,” he says and adds, "Our stars have realised the relevance of Sanatana Dharma and are attempting to present its timeless values through cinema. Their commitment to such subjects deserves appreciation," he reasons.

Dolly also believes the use of divine imagery strengthens the emotional connect with audiences. "Hindu deities represent courage, righteousness and moral clarity. Whenever these elements appear on screen, audiences respond enthusiastically with whistles, chants and celebrations. They naturally connect with heroes who are backed by divine strength barring a few exceptions," Dolly concludes.