Last week, social media was abuzz with the stunning news of the casting of Tamil superstar Dhanush in The Russo Brothers’ ambitious Netflix film ‘The Gray Man‘. It’s a matter of pride for every Indian that Dhanush will be sharing screen space with the likes of Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans in a movie that promises to be a grand cinematic spectacle. The Russo Brothers and Netflix have plans to turn it into a James Bond style franchise, which in itself is a huge thing for any movie.
But why cast Dhanush for The Gray Man? Why not cast one of the numerous Bollywood film stars already into doing OTT in a big way, any one of whom would have jumped at the chance to feature in a Russo Brothers – Netflix collab project. Well, we think it’s a carefully thought out, well planned strategic move on the part of Netflix, with only one aim in mind – to capture eyeballs in the nascent Tamil OTT market!
Anyone with even passing knowledge of the entertainment world will know that Tamil audiences are fiercely loyal to their home-grown film stars. And fiercely devoted to them too. Dhanush is a especially-loved star among Tamil audiences. An international project of the scale of The Gray Man with Dhanush playing a prominent role in it is bound to attract Tamil audiences in huge numbers – one point to Netflix on that account.
Next, by casting Dhanush in one of its biggest prestige projects, Netflix aims to counter Amazon Prime Video in the regional OTT market of India. It is an area that Amazon Prime Video has captured and made its own, especially after the massive success of Tamil film Soorarai Pottru, the Suriya starrer that scored a huge win for Amazon Prime Video in the fickle direct to digital releases field. Netflix hopes that The Gray Man will do for it what Soorarai Pottru did for Amazon Prime Video – bring in a huge number of Tamil subscribers. And we all know that Tamil viewers are an important subscriber base by any count – another point to Netflix for that.
Dhanush is also a well-known and well-liked actor for the rest of India, unlike other Tamil or regional actors. His Raanjhanaa had been a big hit, with both North and West India audiences liking him tremendously in the film. Casting Dhanush in The Gray Man sits well with the rest of India viewers too – Netflix scores another point there – a major one too.
Finally, guess why the Russo Brothers and Netflix’s thriller film Extraction raked in the strongest viewing numbers for 2020? It was all because of the massive numbers of Indian viewers who watched it because of the India connection, and the inclusion of several Indian actors such as Randeep Hooda, Pankaj Tripathi and Priyanshu Painyuli. Of course, Chris Hemsworth was a major attraction too. But the Indian setting and Indian actors in a major Hollywood film made all the difference in making Extraction a hit in India. The Gray Man will be an even bigger hit for Netflix in India —and all because of the inclusion of Dhanush.
Game, Set and Match, Netflix!
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