Superstar Rajinikanth’s Lingaa which hit the theatres
yesterday was the 203rd Tamil release of 2014. Kollywood has created a
new record and touched an all time high, as it crossed a double century
of releases! Never before in the history of Tamil films have there been
so many releases in a year.
The record is mainly due to digitalisation of Tamil film-making. Digital age has arrived in Kollywood. Today films are being shot using low cost digital cameras and the final content is watched in theatres with digital projection. The conventional cinema theatre projector is now obsolete.
According to Jayendra Panchapakesan of Real Image Media Technologies, the man who pioneered digital projection: “Digital production and release has democratised filmmaking and anyone with an idea can make a film today.”
The cost of making a two-hour feature film with little known stars or newcomers is between Rs 2 to Rs 4 Crore, depending on the budget. And everything is digitalised from production to screening, bringing down cost of operations. Earlier a film print used to cost around Rs 65,000 while today digital projection has made it as low as Rs 5000 per screen. This has led to huge releases for a film. Rajinikanth’s Padayappa (1999) released in 500 screens while his latest Lingaa is set to release in 3000 plus screens worldwide!
Internet penetration and social media has made Kollywood and its larger than life stars like Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Vijay, Ajith and Suriya popular worldwide, making it the second most popular cinema from India after Bollywood. And rich NRI Tamils want to produce films along with hundreds of local Tamil Nadu-based businessmen and politicians of all hue and colour are into film production. Please note in Tamil Nadu politics and cinema go hand in hand, with many actors aspiring to join politics.
In today’s digital world there is a mad scramble to make Tamil films, without any background check. It has resulted in a boom in production and releases. A few months back television channels were buying satellite rights of new films at attractive prices which also increased the boom. As prices touched the roof, almost all channels stopped buying and a brand new film like Siddharth’s period drama Kaaviya Thalaivan could not find a buyer before the release of the film. But the glamour associated with Kollywood is making a lot of NRI’s and little known people turn producers and test the waters.
A
spokesperson of Tamil Film Producers Council (TFPC) said: “They come
from nowhere and make films without understanding the trade and when
their films flop they disappear. Today the scenario is alarming as
nearly five to six films are being released every week, clogging the
release pipeline and creating apathy among the audiences.”
In the last five years the regular film producer has almost vanished as new cash rich producers are being encouraged by the stars and technicians, because they pay fancy salaries without any market reality. In fact the TFPC is going to implement only four releases a week from January 2014.
Every week there are four or five releases, putting pressure on the screens. Tamil Nadu as per the latest count has around 1110 screens, mainly single screens and few multiplexes concentrated around Chennai and suburbs and Coimbatore. In the 1970 and 80’s there were over 2000 screens in TN, which has shrunk as builders and real estate sharks gobbled up many screens and turned them into commercial properties. Most low budget films release with one or two shows per day and after a week are removed.
However this release rush has caused logjam in the trade. For the first time Lingaa, a Rajinikanth film is releasing along with two other little known films. Earlier, nobody would dare to release any film with a Rajnikanth biggie, even a week after its release. Today a week after Lingaa release on December 19, two more movies– Pisasu a horror thriller directed by acclaimed director Mysskin and another horror film Suturla are scheduled for release.
On Christmas day (December 25) five small to medium movies are due for release. The Christmas releases are noted director turned hero SJ Surya’s Isai, a film rumoured to be on the rivalry between two maestros Ilayaraja and AR Rahman. Then there is Kayal a musical love story set against the 2004 Tsunami and directed by trend setter Prabhu Solomon.
On the same day action packed Meaghamann starring popular hero Arya and Hansika and directed by Magizh Thirumeni is hitting the screens. Director-turned producer Shankar's omedy caper Kappal is also slated for release. Add to that, the rising star Vikram Prabhu’s (grandson of legendary Sivaji Ganesan and son of actor Prabhu) Vellaikaara Durai has will also be out on Christmas.
And the rush continues in the New Year as Pongal, the biggest festival season in Tamil Nadu approaches. A Pongal date is considered auspicious by all big heroes and a time when box-office booms. This year (2015) the state government has already declared five days holidays from January 14 to 19.
A slew of biggies are lined up for the harvest season release. They are Shankar=directed big budget I starring Vikram, Ajith’s Yennai Arindhaal directed by Gautham Menon, popular action hero Vishal’s Aambala directed by Sundar C and the sensational new star Sivakarthikeyan’s Kakki Sattai. And two weeks after Pongal on January 30, Kamal Haasan’s Uttama Villain and Dhanush’s Anegan are trying for a release!
Earlier all the big names would get a solo release, which enabled them to get large number of screens and attractive terms and conditions from distributors and exhibitors. Now the releases are lined up one after the other.
Some question being asked in the trade are – Where are the screens to show all these films? Where is the money in the market to sustain the biggies? And why this mad rush to release and commit hara-kiri?
The producers say that they are forced to release amidst competition as they have to recoup their investments as early as possible. If the films get delayed their interest rate will go up, so it is better to release than wait for a solo release, which will never come.
The record is mainly due to digitalisation of Tamil film-making. Digital age has arrived in Kollywood. Today films are being shot using low cost digital cameras and the final content is watched in theatres with digital projection. The conventional cinema theatre projector is now obsolete.
According to Jayendra Panchapakesan of Real Image Media Technologies, the man who pioneered digital projection: “Digital production and release has democratised filmmaking and anyone with an idea can make a film today.”
The cost of making a two-hour feature film with little known stars or newcomers is between Rs 2 to Rs 4 Crore, depending on the budget. And everything is digitalised from production to screening, bringing down cost of operations. Earlier a film print used to cost around Rs 65,000 while today digital projection has made it as low as Rs 5000 per screen. This has led to huge releases for a film. Rajinikanth’s Padayappa (1999) released in 500 screens while his latest Lingaa is set to release in 3000 plus screens worldwide!
Internet penetration and social media has made Kollywood and its larger than life stars like Rajinikanth, Kamal Haasan, Vijay, Ajith and Suriya popular worldwide, making it the second most popular cinema from India after Bollywood. And rich NRI Tamils want to produce films along with hundreds of local Tamil Nadu-based businessmen and politicians of all hue and colour are into film production. Please note in Tamil Nadu politics and cinema go hand in hand, with many actors aspiring to join politics.
In today’s digital world there is a mad scramble to make Tamil films, without any background check. It has resulted in a boom in production and releases. A few months back television channels were buying satellite rights of new films at attractive prices which also increased the boom. As prices touched the roof, almost all channels stopped buying and a brand new film like Siddharth’s period drama Kaaviya Thalaivan could not find a buyer before the release of the film. But the glamour associated with Kollywood is making a lot of NRI’s and little known people turn producers and test the waters.
Rajinikanth's Lingaa was released yesterday. Courtesy: Facebook
In the last five years the regular film producer has almost vanished as new cash rich producers are being encouraged by the stars and technicians, because they pay fancy salaries without any market reality. In fact the TFPC is going to implement only four releases a week from January 2014.
Every week there are four or five releases, putting pressure on the screens. Tamil Nadu as per the latest count has around 1110 screens, mainly single screens and few multiplexes concentrated around Chennai and suburbs and Coimbatore. In the 1970 and 80’s there were over 2000 screens in TN, which has shrunk as builders and real estate sharks gobbled up many screens and turned them into commercial properties. Most low budget films release with one or two shows per day and after a week are removed.
However this release rush has caused logjam in the trade. For the first time Lingaa, a Rajinikanth film is releasing along with two other little known films. Earlier, nobody would dare to release any film with a Rajnikanth biggie, even a week after its release. Today a week after Lingaa release on December 19, two more movies– Pisasu a horror thriller directed by acclaimed director Mysskin and another horror film Suturla are scheduled for release.
On Christmas day (December 25) five small to medium movies are due for release. The Christmas releases are noted director turned hero SJ Surya’s Isai, a film rumoured to be on the rivalry between two maestros Ilayaraja and AR Rahman. Then there is Kayal a musical love story set against the 2004 Tsunami and directed by trend setter Prabhu Solomon.
On the same day action packed Meaghamann starring popular hero Arya and Hansika and directed by Magizh Thirumeni is hitting the screens. Director-turned producer Shankar's omedy caper Kappal is also slated for release. Add to that, the rising star Vikram Prabhu’s (grandson of legendary Sivaji Ganesan and son of actor Prabhu) Vellaikaara Durai has will also be out on Christmas.
And the rush continues in the New Year as Pongal, the biggest festival season in Tamil Nadu approaches. A Pongal date is considered auspicious by all big heroes and a time when box-office booms. This year (2015) the state government has already declared five days holidays from January 14 to 19.
A slew of biggies are lined up for the harvest season release. They are Shankar=directed big budget I starring Vikram, Ajith’s Yennai Arindhaal directed by Gautham Menon, popular action hero Vishal’s Aambala directed by Sundar C and the sensational new star Sivakarthikeyan’s Kakki Sattai. And two weeks after Pongal on January 30, Kamal Haasan’s Uttama Villain and Dhanush’s Anegan are trying for a release!
Earlier all the big names would get a solo release, which enabled them to get large number of screens and attractive terms and conditions from distributors and exhibitors. Now the releases are lined up one after the other.
Some question being asked in the trade are – Where are the screens to show all these films? Where is the money in the market to sustain the biggies? And why this mad rush to release and commit hara-kiri?
The producers say that they are forced to release amidst competition as they have to recoup their investments as early as possible. If the films get delayed their interest rate will go up, so it is better to release than wait for a solo release, which will never come.
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