WAVES Summit: Om Raut says ‘Tanhaji’ and ‘Adipurush’ reached wider South audience; reveals Telugu rights of 'Adipurush' pre-sold for Rs 120 crore
In Pic: Om Raut
Om Raut attended a session named ‘The Changing Face of Indian Cinema' on day 2 of WAVES 2025. During the ongoing Summit, the filmmaker shared some interesting insights about the box office performance of his films and how they found a wider audience in the South markets.
He began by saying, “We are a nation of over 140 crore people, we are a nation which is looked at as the biggest market in the world. Whether car brands, toothpaste, chocolates, or restaurants - all global brands that are trying to come into India and are trying to set up their shops here, are trying to sell their products in our country. That makes us the largest consumer market available to the world. We know our sentiments, our brands, our content consumption patterns better than anybody else.”
He added, “It is said that think global, act local. I think this is the right time for us to do it. We have the best of the technology in the world, best brains who can operate in the world, best actors, phenomenal filmmakers, technicians and we have an audience. First, we have to be popular in our own lane. Once we’re there, then we can mount on that and reach the global audience.”
Om Raut further stated, “The most successful verse that has happened to date is the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Because of Marvel, Disney at their peak time contributed to 23% of the global box office. (In other words), 23% of tickets sold were for a Marvel film or Disney film. This means that a kid in Nebraska is watching the same content as Vikrant and his team in Mumbai. Virat Kohli, similarly, is popular in all parts of India.”
He continued, “Since the same kind of content is consumed globally. What if we modify our content a little bit; it will then be accessible to a global audience. After all, the hunger of an artist is to reach a greater number of people.”
Stating the reason behind speaking about numbers, Om Raut added, “The reason I am quoting numbers is because it gives an idea about the number of eyeballs it has grabbed. My first film was in Marathi, titled Lokmanya: Ek Yugpurush (2015); it collected Rs.14 crores in Maharashtra. A limited number of non-Marathi-speaking people saw the film. It did some box office in Bengaluru, Indore and Delhi. I realized that there was some demand for niche cinema made in my language to reach that audience. I was happy that a kid from South Mumbai made a Marathi film and it was consumed in Bengaluru. It was very satisfying.”
Speaking about Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, Om Raut stated, “Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior (2020) collected Rs. 300 crores out of which it earned Rs. 14 crores from the Telugu-speaking states of Andhra Pradesh-Telangana. Hindi films normally don’t earn so much there. A Hindi film usually earns Rs. 4-5 crores there but our film collected a whopping Rs. 14 crores.”
He stated, “Then I made my third film, Adipurush (2023). It was shot simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu. Before we even released the film, the Telugu market rights were sold for Rs.120 crores. This means that so many people actually saw that film. My distributor is somewhere here. Maybe, he can (correct me if I am wrong).” He added, “The need for an artist is to reach a wider audience. If we can make our local stories strong and tell them with all our heart, it’ll resonate across the world.” These impressive numbers of Om Raut’s big banner films prove that the audience resonated with his storytelling and applauded his directorial vision.
Speaking about how technological advancements are opening doors of creativity, Om stated, “The integration of VFX, virtual production, and AI in filmmaking isn’t the future- it’s the present. But we must balance this with cultural depth and emotional resonance.”
Om Raut, the National Film Award-winning director, is celebrated for his visually ambitious projects. After Adipurush, the audience is keen to see more of his on-screen explorations and experience one-of-a-kind filmmaking.
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