More pain than gain

The last few months have been particularly bad for Kannada cinema as 'House Full' boards are missing and producers are claiming to have lost close to Rs 65 crore.u00a0


More than 40 films hit the screens in four months but only three films Junglee, Ambari and Venkata in Sankata__ managed to cross the 50-day mark.

Flop show

Year 2008 was also a disastrous one for the Kannada film industry. Around 120 films were released, but only eight made decent money. One big budget film after the other bit the dust and Sandalwood suffered losses totalling Rs 200 crore.

Though the industry saw new trends, new faces, a record number of new launches and increased investments by realtors, escalating production costs and messy production disputes queered the pitch. Stars who demanded astronomical fees despite a string of flops, a famine of original ideas and high overruns in time and costs contributed to the down-cycle of the industry.

No lessons learnt

But the crippling losses incurred last year did not leave the producers any wiser. Trade analysts explain why they think the bad times are far from over. "Going by the poor quality of films being made, it's not surprising that theatres are empty. Not one film that boasted of a huge star cast fared well. The message is now clear that the industry now needs to throw out the star system," said an industry-watcher, who did not wish to be named.

Producers, directors and writers agree that Kannada cinema is in desperate need of exciting ideas. "Underworld sagas, soppy family dramas and mushy love stories are out. The audience demands better quality films from us," said a director.

The only way out for the industry to tackle the crisis is to rationalise budgets, re-orient the star system and more importantly, tell good stories. Is anyone listening?

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