‘They own you’: A documentary examines the nature of fandom in southern cinema

The recently released Pushpa 2 – The Rule is already set for a record-toppling reign at the box office. Sukumar’s follow-up to Pushpa – The Rise (2001) stars Telugu actor Allu Arjun as a coolie who swaggers his way to the top of a red sandalwood smuggling racket. The movie’s premiere was tinged with tragedy: a woman died in a stampede on Wednesday at a show attended by the Arjun and his team at the Sandhya theatre in Hyderabad.

The frenzy caused by Arjun’s presence is evidence of his massive popularity. Fandom – or rather fanaticdom – has boosted the careers of movie stars from the South like nowhere else in India. Fanatics, which has been released on the streaming platform DocuBay, attempts to understand why southern movie stars attract such manic loyalty.

From the hysterics that greet the latest releases to the influence of fan behaviour on the box office, the documentary covers a great deal of ground in 56 minutes. Though the crisp duration makes deep diving impossible, Fanatics does provide some answers into why this phenomenon is particular to the language film industries in the South, particularly Tamil and Telugu.

Arjun is among the stars interviewed for the film, which is produced by Studio 9 and directed by Aryan D Roy. “Stars are...

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