Will audiences flock to theatres to see Ajay Devgn doing a Mohanlal? Of course they will, if they haven’t seen Drishyam 2 in Malayalam on OTT. Or even if they have seen the Malayalam film they might appreciate director Abhishek Pathak’s cultural translocation and the vigorous Maharashtrian-Goan flavour. And no Goa-flavoured songs like Na mangoon sona chandi (Bobby) and Michael daru peeta hai (Majboor).
One reason why Malayalam cinema for all its resonant excellence, fails to have a pan-India impact is the rigid cultural specificity. For example, while beef is banned in the rest of India, the characters in Malayalam cinema speak freely of beef as a regular meal habit. One man’s meat… etc.
