‘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 highly idolised in the South, more than anywhere else I have seen in the world,” Arjun observes.

In addition to Arjun, the film has conversations with Kannada star Sudeep and Tamil actor Vijay Sethupathi. The psychiatrist Yamini Kannappan explores the psychological roots and effect of what she calls “intense obsession”, “para-social and one-sided” attitudes and a “cultural form of worshipping” on viewers.

Kannappan’s theory that hard-core fans identify intimately with their objects of veneration is borne out in the conversations with fans of Allu Arjun, Sudeep, Rajinikanth, MG Ramachandran, Mahesh Babu and Pawan Kalyan.

One fan in a town in Kerala claims that Arjun is like his “elder brother”. He says that whenever he feels low, he sits in a room where every available inch is covered by Arjun’s photographs and “talks” to the actor.

We meet other obsessives, such as a man who dresses up like MG Ramachandran to another who has been propitiating Rajinikanth for the past 40 years. We also meet members of fan associations, who slavishly follow their icon’s every move and dutifully pack theatres.

The most interesting part of the documentary is the link between fandom and a movie’s commercial prospects. Success depends entirely on a fanbase that is uncritical as well as intensely committed, Tamil film producer G Dhananjayan observes.

By encouraging, supporting and even tolerating the antics of fan associations, southern film stars may be riding a tiger that they are increasingly unable to control, the film suggests. A couple who lost their son to a violent scuffle between rival followers of Telugu actors Pawan Kalyan and NTR Jr is an extreme example of what Tamil film historian Mohan Raman calls the darker side of “psycho fans”.

The link between fan behaviour and enhanced revenue is under-explored, just as the precise role played by actors and filmmakers in influencing or even perhaps manipulating fan clubs remains murky. The access of the filmmakers to stars of the wattage of Arjun and Sudeep could perhaps have merited a lengthier and more detailed exploration of the phenomenon.

Each of the actors strike a note of caution. Arjun makes a case for channelling die-hard devotion into meaningful acts. Vijay Sethupathi declares that he has discouraged fan associations from being set up in his name.

Sudeep says he worries about being treated like a demi-god: “I am a man of flaws,” Sudeep says. “This kind of worship ties you down.”

Having basked in and financially benefitted from adulation, the Southern marquee kings can’t always control how their subjects will behave. “They own you,” Sudeep contends.