There is a huge subtitle issue in tamil films hindering them reaching a broad audience
I just finished Squid Game Season 2 and watched it in Korean with English subtitles. The subtitles were fantastic- concise and easy to follow. They didn’t translate every single word but summarized the dialogue in a way that let you enjoy the performance too. This is how subtitles should be. IMO Bollywood movies often follow this approach as well.
Tamil cinema, however, has abysmal subtitles. They’re either in poor English or try to translate every single word, forcing you to speed-read while also keeping up with the movie. It’s exhausting.
Look at the example I posted from Viduthalai Part 2. They’re translating song lyrics and dialogue at the same time- who is this for? How are you supposed to follow along? This quality of subtitles seriously limits Tamil movies from reaching a broader audience. Even people struggled with Vikram (example: https://youtu.be/tKtMY-rc1pk?si=vHq42x8kskt2npTa).
As someone raised abroad, I find this frustrating. I know Tamil, but my non-Tamil-speaking friends want to enjoy these movies too. They’ve stopped coming to theaters because they can’t keep up and instead wait for Netflix, where the subtitles are slightly better.
I just finished Squid Game Season 2 and watched it in Korean with English subtitles. The subtitles were fantastic- concise and easy to follow. They didn’t translate every single word but summarized the dialogue in a way that let you enjoy the performance too. This is how subtitles should be. IMO Bollywood movies often follow this approach as well.
Tamil cinema, however, has abysmal subtitles. They’re either in poor English or try to translate every single word, forcing you to speed-read while also keeping up with the movie. It’s exhausting.
Look at the example I posted from Viduthalai Part 2. They’re translating song lyrics and dialogue at the same time- who is this for? How are you supposed to follow along? This quality of subtitles seriously limits Tamil movies from reaching a broader audience. Even people struggled with Vikram (example: https://youtu.be/tKtMY-rc1pk?si=vHq42x8kskt2npTa).
As someone raised abroad, I find this frustrating. I know Tamil, but my non-Tamil-speaking friends want to enjoy these movies too. They’ve stopped coming to theaters because they can’t keep up and instead wait for Netflix, where the subtitles are slightly better.