KOCHI: The virus is set to change the way films are made and watched. Malayalam cinema should, at least for a couple of years, play by one rule to remain relevant — go easy on crore-club ambitions and turn to smaller, rooted and economically viable films. With star salaries making up the biggest component of film budgets, the call for voluntary pay cut makes good business sense.
No matter how hard those involved in the movie-making business tried to skew the narrative about filmmaking being an artistic venture, it is and always has been about business. To put it bluntly, it’s about money. Filmmakers having producers with deep pockets to back them had greater freedom and could afford to let their imagination run wild while those not lucky enough to have that luxury had their artistic exuberance restricted by a shoe-string budget.
Level-playing field was never tinsel town’s virtue. In that sense, the pandemic has been a weird leveller. It has hit the big and the small and in the new normal of the post-pandemic world, cost-cutting has become the overriding phenomenon. Indeed, the show must go on. The million-dollar question, though, is at what cost.In 2020, Malayalam cinema started on an average note with nearly 39 movies hitting screens till March 6. Of the total movies released this year, ‘Anchaaam Pathira’ helmed by Midhun Manuel Thomas became a mega-hit. Then Sachi delivered a super hit with his ‘Ayyappanum Koshiyum’. In Covid’s wake, theatres were forced to shut down from March 10, which dealt a severe blow to the industry already reeling under financial crunch.
Never before in living memory has film theatres in the state remained shut for so long. At the turn of the millennium, a severe crisis, albeit of a different kind, had hit the industry. Following the release of ‘Kinnarathumbikal’ (2000), soft porn began to reign at the box office.Though in 2000, there was a big hit like ‘Narasimham’, ‘Thenkashippattanam’ and super hits like ‘Valyettan’ and ‘Dada Sahib’, theatres were forced to screen the titillating fare for their survival. While the big-budget movies like ‘Ravanaprabhu’ and ‘Rakshasarajavu’ were released during the Onam season in 2001, the ticket charges were high for the first three days. The same was the case with ‘Dubai’ (2001) which was released later.
“Back then, the scenario was different. Theatres charged different ticket rates for mega-budget films while other films had normal ticket rates. My film ‘Rakshasarajavu’ was one of the big-budget movies of that era and so to help the producer recover the production cost through the initial collection, such a method was adopted,” said director Vinayan.
However, increasing the ticket charge when the cinema halls are allowed to reopen will not do the industry any good. “Cinema is now the least priority of the common man. The pandemic has left people terrified and they are engaged in the fight for survival. We do not know when normality will return. The industry, all those who are into film making -- actors, technicians, and other crew -- should make use of the lockdown period for devising a proper plan for reviving the industry. Slashing production costs is the only way to inject fresh life into the industry,” he said.
Producers await FEFKA, AMMA response
Kochi: The Kerala Film Producers’ Association (KFPA) has written to Film Employees’ Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) and Association of Malayalam Movie Artists (AMMA) regarding steps for effecting a pay cut and slashing the overall production costs to revive the movie industry. “Though it is too early to think of resuming film shootings, we need to have a proper plan. The producers are not in a position now to undertake film production on a scale similar to that during the pre-Covid days,” said Rejaputhra Renjith, president, KFPA. He said the demand to reduce the remuneration is not against any particular individual/star/technician.
“We are not in a situation to resume shooting on a scale comparable to the pre-Pandemic times. There is a big question mark over the future of theatres and satellite-OTT rates. A whole lot of uncertainty prevails everywhere. Hopefully, artists and technicians will understand our situation and come up with a positive response on cost-cutting measures. Otherwise, we will not survive as an industry,” said the KFPA president. According to Renjith, even in 2019, only six movies were able to recover production cost from theatre collection alone. “With the reopening of theatres remaining the government’s least priority, we need more sops for keeping the industry alive,” he added.
The million dollar question
Level-playing field was never tinsel town’s virtue. In that sense, the pandemic has been a weird leveller. It has hit the big and the small and in the new normal of the post-pandemic world, cost-cutting has become the overriding phenomenon. Indeed, the show must go on. The million-dollar question, though, is at what cost.