Rajinikanth, Chiranjeevi became famous through Bollywood remakes: Ram Gopal Varma

Veteran filmmaker Ram Gopal Varma stated that South Indian superstars such as Rajinikanth, Chiranjeevi, NTR, and Rajkumar gained their fame by starring in remakes of Amitabh Bachchan's classic Bollywood films. He noted that the typical masala movies inspired by Bachchan's blockbusters continue to be popular in South India. Varma discussed the commercial nature of these films in an interview with India TV Showbizz.

“In the beginning, all four South Indian movie industries remade Amitab Bachchan’s popular films from the 70s and 80s. Stars like Raijnikanth, Chiranjeevi, N T Ramarao and Rajkumar gained fame by acting in these remakes. When Amitab Bachchan took a long break from his career in the 1990s, music companies began producing movies to promote their sound tracks,” Varma said. 

Ram Gopal Varma remarked that young Bollywood filmmakers in the 1990s could connect with international film industries primarily due to their proficiency in English. He pointed out that most South Indian producers who financed commercial films did not demonstrate much interest in global cinema. Varma observed that the South Indian film industry largely focused on stories that had mass appeal.