New Delhi, May 29 -- Small and medium-scale boutique studios and independent film producers who primarily churned out low-budget Hindi movies are now turning to regional languages for bigger gains.

Producers Anand Pandit and Vinod Bhanushali and Saregama-owned Yoodlee Films are among those betting on Gujarati, Punjabi and Marathi films, where the star fee is lower and the movie-going culture is robust.

Actor John Abraham, who produced the Marathi filmSavita Damodar Paranjpe, has expressed interest in backing more films in regional languages. This translates into more reasonable investments and predictable returns at the box office than in Bollywood, which many of these names had first tapped.

"Regional crews by and large manage their t...