The speciality of Sandalwood is that it welcomes all, without any bias, to try their luck. Any one who has money can make films in Sandalwood irrespective of his knowledge on filmmaking.
The number of films released this year stood at 104 as of October 1. If this trend continues, this number is expected to overtake last year’s total number of films. It is true that Kannada films have won many awards at the national level and were appreciated at international film festivals. For example, Girish Kasaravalli’s film Kanasemba Kudureneri got two awards at the 57th National Films Awards this year. A children’s film — Puttani Party — was adjudged as the best film while a book on cinema — Cinema Yaana — got the prize for the first time.
However, all is not well at the home front. Among the 104 films released in nine months, only six films succeeded at the box office. They are: Aaptharakshaka , Pruthvi , Porki , Eradane Madhuve , Krishnan Love Story and Pancharangi . The Sudeep-starrer Thirtha was average at the box office.
What is the reason for the failure of Kannada films? “There is no attempt to retain Kannada nativity in films. Many producers have no time to make films based on Kannada novels. They are in a terrible hurry to earn money. It is a fact that audiences have rejected most of the re-makes,’’ says director S V
Rajendra Singh Babu. The other problem is the competition from other language films. A Kannada film has to compete with three to four other language films in all major cities across Karnataka, and this is especially true of Bangalore. It has become a habit, however, for Kannada producers to blame other language films for the failure of Kannada films at the box office.
The Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) has imposed some restrictions on the number of prints of other language films slated for release in Karnataka. As per the KFCC norms, the number of prints should not exceed more than 25. Whenever a Tamil, Telugu, Hindi or English film is released at more than 25 theatres, Kannada film producers come to the streets demanding that the KFCC take action against the distributor for violating the norms. There are occasions where KFCC members seize film prints from theatres.
However, director Shashank begs to differ with the KFCC members. Shashank firmly believes that Kannada cine buffs always encourage quality films. He had the privilege of achieving a hat-trick in Kannada. His films — Sixer , Moggina Manasu and Krishnan Love Story — completed 100 days in theatres. “My film Krishnan Love Story was released on the same day when Raavan was released. Many people advised me to postpone the release of the film but I refused to follow their advice. I was confident of its success,’’ says Shashank.
It is quite surprising to see that many big budget films such as School Master , Mathe Mungaaru , Nooru Janmaku , Sugreeva , Thamassu , Cheluvaye Ninne Noodalu , Just Maath Maathalli , Sri Hari Kathe , Premism , Thipparalli Tharlegalu , Ullaasa Uthsaaha , Liftu Kodlaa and Hoo all crashed at the box office.
Other smaller films like Namma Yeriyadalli Ondudina , Niranthara , and Antharathma received critical acclaim but failed to bring cheer to producers and distributors.
It is heartening to see hat-trick hero Shivarajkumar reaching the milestone of the 100th film in his career. While his 98th film Cheluveye Ninne Noodalu crashed at the box-office, his 99th film Mailaari is set to be released shortly and he is busy with the shooting of his 100th film Jogayya . Surprisingly, even in these difficult times, three directors are vying to sign the megastar for his 101st film.
— maheswarareddy@expressbuzz.com