HYDERABAD: The moment a filmaker casts a star like Mahesh Babu, it is a fact that the openings alone will cover more than half of the investment. But is it possible for a low budget movie to earn three times more money than its investment with new directors and emerging actors?
Yes, and recent success of movies like Run Raja Run, Oohalu Gusagusalade, and Lovers, are proof. None of these movies boast of big stars. In fact they were all directed by the emerging directors and their budget was only between Rs 2 to 3 crore. Yet these movies registered remarkable success at box office despite the competition with start studded big budget movies like NTR’s Rabhasa and Mahesh Babu’s Aagadu.
Along with commercial success, these movies also received good response from the audience. Especially Run Raja Run and Oohalu Gusagusalade had set examples for upcoming movie makers to make a good film with limited budget. “Good script and perfect casting is the secret of success of my movie”, says Srinivas Avasarala, director of Oohalu Gusagusalade. “I strongly believe that, it is the story which makes a movie hit or flop,” he adds. Srinivas who has a diploma in script writing from University of California says, “It doesn’t really matter if the budget for a film is big or small budget to make a good movie. All you need is to get a perfect script and execute it well.”
New directors too are keen on the scripts. Rather than investing on additional attractions like song sequences in foreign locations and sizzling item numbers with Bombay models, they are focusing on keeping the audience engaged with the story throughout the movie. Run Raja Run, written and directed by Sujeeth Sign who was earlier a short film maker, is a simple love entertainment that registered a big success. Made with Rs 2 crore it earned around Rs 11 crore at the box office.
Newcomers are trying hard to create their own space in the industry. They are making a good use of their work experience as short film makers or assistant directors. “Making short films teaches a lot including how to utilise limited funds and narrate long stories in a short time,” says Mahesh Kathi, who is an actor, film critic and his first crowd funded film Pesarattu is due to release.
“There are many advantages in making low budget movies compared to big budget movies,” says Mahesh adding, “Handling a full movie with limited resources is a big challenge and it brings out the best in a director. Moreover, we don’t have to compromise with the script for the image of stars, because there isn’t any star.”
Low budget is key
Low budget films high on creative content, emerged as the real winners in Tollywood this year. Offerings like Karthikeya not only set the cash registers ringing but also spelt profit for the investors in the southern filmdom, which otherwise registered a mere five percent hits out of about 500 releases. Biggies like Lingaa, and Aagadu managed to strike gold at the box-office, but they couldn’t qualify as successful ventures. “A successful film is one which benefits every investor - from a producer to distributor to theatre owner. All these stars’ films are sold at exorbitant prices, hence it becomes extremely difficult for distributors and other investors to make profits,” says trade analyst Trinath.
A.R. Murugadoss-directed Tamil actioner Kaththi raked in over Rs 100 crore ($16 million) on an investment of about Rs 70 crore. Likewise, Rajinikanth’s Lingaa, said to be a Rs 80 crore movie, collected about Rs 100 crore in its opening weekend worldwide. However, it has not been that great a year, if you look at Tollywood specifically. With almost all the biggies biting the dust, it was sleeper hits like Karthikeya, Oohalu Gusagusalade and Run Raja Run, and the most recent Ala Ela? that maintained the footfalls. The biggest Telugu hit was Karthikeya by debutant director Chandoo Mondeti. The Akkineni family’s Telugu family drama Manam was a successful venture because of the low cost involved. “Since the film featured actors from three generations of the Akkineni family, it didn’t cost them much. It collected about Rs 40 crore worldwide and celebrated a 50-day run at the box-office. Moreover, the makers solely enjoyed the success because they had released the film on their own,” a leading producer said. “The Telugu industry suffered huge losses due to big films such as Govindudu Andarivadele, Heart Attack, Rabhasa, Power and Aagadu. These films may have opened to big numbers, but they failed to turn profitable,” he added.