Mumbai – 2025
For decades, mainstream Indian cinema romanticized cities like Mumbai, Delhi, and London. Characters wore urban aspiration as identity—foreign degrees, sea-facing apartments, designer wardrobes. But somewhere in the last ten years, the cinematic center shifted.
Today, fromGwaliortoKanpur, fromBhopaltoBarabanki,India’s stories are increasingly set in its Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns.
This isn’t an aesthetic preference. It’s acreative, commercial, and cultural recalibration—one that reflects where the real India lives, speaks, and dreams.
Why the Shift Happened
1. Audience Base Has Shifted
Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns account forover 50% of India’s online streaming consumption(source: BCG–CII Media Report, 2023). With cheaper smartphones, data packs, and OTT expansion, creators now speak directly to audiences who don’t live in Bandra or Bangalore.
2. The Urban Narrative Fatigue
For years, urban-centric films chased aspirational sameness—English-speaking characters, elite problems, interchangeable skylines. Audiences now crave stories rooted ingeography, dialect, and socio-economic reality.
3. Performance of Small-Town Films
Films likeBareilly Ki Barfi,Jai Bhim,Sardar Udham,Panchayat, andGullakproved thatlocal stories can drive both numbers and praise—not despite their setting, but because of it.
4. Political and Cultural Visibility
Post-2014, India’s socio-political focus turned sharply toward the Hindi heartland. From policy to pop culture, small towns are now central to national identity—and storytelling followed.
What Makes Small-Town Settings Work on Screen
- Relatable stakes: Property disputes, broken water lines, family pressure—not global crises
- Distinctive language: Bundelkhandi, Awadhi, Bihari, Bhojpuri, Maithili, Marwari
- Tactile environments: Rooftops, paan stalls, police chowkis, municipal offices—iconography that anchors realism
- Complex social dynamics: Caste, patriarchy, class, migration—handled with increasing nuance, not caricature
Writers and Directors Driving the Shift
- Varun Grover (Sacred Games, Masaan, All India Rank)
- Shubham (Writer of Eeb Allay Ooo!, Ghar Set Hai)
- Avinash Arun (Paatal Lok, Three of Us)
- Shiv Rawail (The Railway Men)
- Deepak Kumar Mishra (Panchayat, Gullak)
Their stories aren’t interested in glorifying or mocking small towns—theyobserve them, inhabit them, and dignify them.
A Creative Win-Win
- Actors get depth over gloss
- Writers explore unexhausted social terrains
- Streaming platforms reach under-tapped markets
- Production costs remain lower
- Stories feel new—yet familiar
Even top stars—Ayushmann Khurrana, Pankaj Tripathi, Radhika Madan, Rajkummar Rao—have built their careers playing characters rooted innon-urban moral worlds.
The Caution: Don’t Turn Small Towns Into Tropes
Not every story needs a ‘gaon ki ladki’ or a quirky bus conductor.
As more creators enter this space, the challenge will be:
- Avoiding template-based writing
- Going beyond “rustic humour” or “upper-caste nostalgia”
- Engaging Dalit, tribal, and linguistic margins—not just the dominant narrative of small-town India
Final Word
The India onscreen today doesn’t begin with a drone shot of Marine Drive. It begins with a train halt in Faizabad, a coaching centre in Kota, or a wedding tent in Sitamarhi.
This isn’t regression. It’srediscovery—of voice, place, and truth.
Because when storytelling moves from skyline to soil, it doesn’t become smaller—it becomescloser.
