Audiences like serious movies with flawed characters

There is massive demand among global audiences for movies that have relatable themes and realistic, flawed characters, a new study revealed on Monday.

To a global audience seeing the troubles, aspirations, and triumphs of ordinary people on the big screen are reasons to go to the box office, it added.

Global audiences are watching movies not to escape reality, but to confront it, according to the SEMrush, an online content marketing platform, who conducted the study.

The survey captured online searches for Bollywood movies made by global audiences between December 2018 and December 2019.

The study shows that audiences want movies that by bringing attention to real-life issues serve films intended purpose of catharsis.

"We've effectively shown that the preferences of global audiences concerning Bollywood films are more mature than those of audiences in the Indian subcontinent," said Fernando Angulo, Head of Communications, SEMrush.

"It has been well known for years that there is a huge market for Bollywood overseas. But, until now there was less factual information about what kinds of films global audiences wanted from Bollywood," Angulo said.

Angulo added: "We've shown that global audiences want movies that have great substance. Substance is also sought from comedy films where global audiences favour sophisticated humour instead of slapstick and over the top antics."

According to the survey, Kabir Singh, the second highest-grossing film of 2019 stars the affable boy next door, Shahid Kapoor. It confronts issues like toxic masculinity that most in society know all too well.

The movie was searched an average of 2.28 million times globally in the mentioned period.

Gully Boy, the second most searched for Bollywood film in the same period gave life to the aspirations of millions living in chawls and slums in India.

The global audience that searched almost ten lakhs times each month for Gully Boy lacks such ambitions.

Nevertheless, it likely loved that the movie presented a glimpse into the inner lives of people whose lives it could only imagine. Globally, Slumdog Millionaire was loved for similar reasons.

Super 30 and Mission Mangal were loved because they purported to tell the real story behind events most wanted to know more about, the study said.

The study showed both movies were searched online approximately nine and 7.6 lakh times; likely by serious audiences that anticipated learning about extraordinary lives and events in an entertaining manner.

Bharat, a serious movie whose backdrop was a painful historical event was searched an average of 8.7 lakh times.

While Indian audiences love silliness onscreen, global audiences demand realism.

The research showed that nostalgia too has a place in the hearts of global audiences.

Chhichhore, a look back to college life by a middle-aged man, was searched an average of more than 6.09 lakh times, likely by many now middle-aged Ind living overseas, the survey said.

According to the company, while realism is on the upswing, globally comedy and action movies too continue drawing audiences.

Movies including Total Dhamaal and Housefull 4 were searched approximately 8.6 and 9.4 lakh times, respectively.

Robust action movies like Simmba and Baaghi 2 were searched a little more than 7.7 and 5.6 lakh times sequentially, the research said.

"We expect our study will help entertainers on all platforms understand audiences better and create content that will be popular among their target audiences," Angulo said.

( With inputs from IANS )