Big-ticket films releasing every week; Kollywood in a fix

The 48-day strike by the Tamil Film Producers Council (TFPC) led to a reshuffle in the release dates of several Kollywood films. Now, this reshuffle has resulted in a situation where starting this Thursday, there will be big-ticket films releasing every week, with hardly any space for a safe run.September 13 will see the release of the rural entertainer Seemaraja, starring Sivakarthikeyan and Samantha,and the thriller U-Turn,which, again, stars Samantha.On September 20, the sequel to Saamy, Saamy², starring Vikram and Keerthy Suresh, is all set to hit screens. Meanwhile, the makers of Mani Ratnam’s multi-starrer Chekka Chivantha Vaanam have announced September 27 as their release date, while Vijay Sethupathi and Trisha’s romance drama, 96,which was supposed to release earlier this month, is looking at releasing on the very next week, October 5.As is Vishnu Vishal and Amala Paul’s Ratsasan.
This mad rush at the box office has left everyone in Kollywood questioning if these films will be able to get enough screens to recover their investment and turn profitable. We spoke to directors, producers and exhibitors connected with some of these films on how they are looking at this unusual scenario.
Given that the Sivakarthikeyan and Ponram combination has already delivered two hits, it is no surprise that their third collaboration, Seemaraja,is generating a lot of hype. But Ponram isn’t worried about the clash for screens and says that such competitions are part and parcel of the game. “There are times when there is hardly a biggie on screen, and people wait for a big-ticket film to release. So, when movies that have generated a lot of buzz come together,there’s no other go,but to face it. That said, we would have loved a two weeks’ space considering the stake involved in the project,”says the filmmaker.
Dhananjayan Govind, who is distributing UTurn, is quite confident about the prospects of his film, which, he informs, will be released in 200 theatres across Tamil Nadu.“Today,a film’s fate depends on its very first show.If it manages to impress viewers, it leads to word-of-mouth publicity and it reflects right in the second and third shows itself.Irrespective of the number of releases every week,any film with good content will have a good chance to survive in the second week if it manages to match up to the hype.”
Hari’s Saamy² received a mixed response on social media for its first trailer, but its second trailer, which was released on Monday, has offset the negative reactions. Though his film is sandwiched between a Mani Ratnam movie, a rural entertainer, and a suspense thriller, producer Shibu Thameens is confident that the festival season will work wonders for it. He says, “The latest trailer has got an overwhelming response and we are sure the movie will satisfy the audience.We can’t think of shifting the date as we had announced our release date long ago. But the entry of Mani sir’s film was unexpected.Even if we try to push the release further,a slew of movies are already scheduled to release on October.So,there’s no looking back.”
This situation is good for exhibitors and audiences, but producers and distributors will have to compete hard to ensure their films get the maximum number of screens,feels Udeep B, managing director, Mayajaal. He says, “The release schedule for the next two months is almost charted, and it is packed. More than multiplexes, single screens will have a tough time accommodating all these movies. Kolamaavu Kokila got two weeks before Imaikkaa Nodigal’s release, and this helped the film reap profits. Now, Imaikkaa Nodigal will be replaced by Seemaraja after a gap of two weeks. We have allotted 10 out of 16 screens in our multiplex for the Sivakarthikeyan-starrer, with 50 shows per day. Siva has the knack of picking festival and holiday seasons for his movies.The success of Kadaikutty Singam has given a boost to rural entertainers — another reason to look forward to this film. Meanwhile, U-Turn is already a proven film in Kannada, and it will have its own audience.”
Palaniappan, one of the managing directors of SK Marlen Cinemas,a single-screen theatre in Alandur, says that single-screen owners are left without any option. “The only way out is to replace films every week with a new release. It all depends on the movie’s quality. If a movie does well, we will allot two shows for it, and give the remaining two or three shows for the new release,” he says.
Producer and the treasurer of TFPC, SR Prabhu, calls this “a tricky scenario”. “We can’t ask anyone not to produce films. Today, there are several avenues for releasing movies. Artistes, technicians and many others are foraying into production these days. At the end of the day, a movie that comes up with good promotion and packaging will get more audience. A film like Pyaar Prema Kaadhal, which released along with a big film like Vishwaroopam II, got more audiences in the second week because of word of mouth. There were about 2,500 theatres 40 years ago, when the population in Tamil Nadu was 5 crore. Today, there are 8-crore people, but there are only 1,200 screens. The number of releases has also increased — from 75 per year to over 200.If the situation with regard to releases becomes worse, the government should interfere,”he says.