Both distributors and exhibitors are losing money on Telugu films in state. Tamil films lose market as Malayalam films gain in Bengaluru
After recent high-profile losses incurred by distributors and exhibitors with Telugu films released in Karnataka, all the talk in this business is about an ‘illusion market.’ In the last two-three years, distribution rights of Telugu films in Karnataka has spiralled from a few lakh rupees for small films to nearly `1 crore for films featuring big stars and more than `5 crore for films featuring top stars.
But things are not so rosy after all. Most of these films are creating losses for distributors and even exhibitors.
Distributor ‘Mars’ Suresh said, “It is really an illusionary market that has been created for Telugu films in the last two years. A combination of high ticket prices and new distributors have wrecked havoc.”
Two big losses in recent times were Mahesh Babu’s Brahmotsavam and Pawan Kalyan’s Sardar Gabbar Singh. Brahmotsavam was purchased by various distributors for `6.3 crore for Karnataka. The box office collections were around `2 crore. In the case of Sardar Gabbar Singh, the collections were `3.5 crore, while the distributors had invested `6 crore. In both the cases, exhibitors (theatre owners) also lost money as they had paid non-refundable advances (NRAs) that they failed to recover.
“For Telugu films particularly, an ‘illusion market’ has been created. As there is no cap on ticket prices in Karnataka unlike TN and AP, many new distributors are paying huge amounts and making losses. Regular distributors have no option but to bid higher to stay in the market and this has created a crisis.
“In all cases, ticket prices are priced double or triple the normal prices in the opening week. Instead of black tickets, distributors and exhibitors are trying to cash in on the hype. Hundreds of donkeys are running in the market and the one that wins is called a horse. But since the number of audience has remained the same, there is no way of making a profit,” Suresh said.
Jayanna, one of the top distributors in Karnataka, agrees, “The phenomenon started three years ago but has become a huge disaster since Baahubali. The number of audience is limited. But by buying films at inflated prices, everyone is suffering a loss. There is no set of audience who watch only Telugu films. The Telugu audience also watch Kannada films and many Kannada audience also watch Telugu films.” Meanwhile, the market for Tamil films has also reduced in Karnataka.
“Now, Tamil films are confined to Bengaluru and Mysuru. Only films of Rajinikanth, Vijay and Suriya can have a wider release. But there is a set of audience which watches only Tamil films. The number of Tamilians in Karnataka is the same as the number of Kannadigas in Tamil Nadu. But Tamil films can make crores in Karnataka but Kannada films struggle to get patronage from Kannadigas there. However, the typical Tamil film market in Karnataka is gone. There are a few theatres that run ‘only’ Tamil films,” says Suresh.
Jayanna says Tamil films are no threat to Kannada films. “Even films of Vijay and Suriya do not impact Kannada films beyond parts of Bengaluru. Only Rajinikanth films affect business across the state,” Jayanna said. But even Rajinikanth’s recent release, Kabali, is likely to create losses. “Exhibitors who paid exhorbitant NRAs are set to lose money. After the first three days, there are no takers for the tickets priced high. And when the hype dies down, reality strikes,” said Suresh. In the meantime, the gainer in Bengaluru is not Kannada films, but Malayalam films.
“While Telugu and Tamil films are slowing down, Malayalam is growing like an elephant. The film Premam collected `60 lakh in Bengaluru. In four-five years, Malayalam films will have a bigger market in Bengaluru than Tamil films,” says Suresh. So what is the lesson for Kannada films? “The audience for Telugu and Kannada films are the same. If we stop remaking films from Telugu, Kannada films will grow bigger. Original Kannada films do well with Telugu audience too,” says Suresh.
Jayanna says, “Unlike non-Kannada films, our ticket prices cannot be priced exorbitantly. Telugu films are the only threat to Kannada films as it is the same set of audience. If a political decision is taken to bring a cap on the ticket prices, things will go back to normalcy. You will not have all the unnecessary hype given to big non-Kannada films. They will have to fight for a bigger set of audience and Kannada films will gain.”
Source: Bangalore Mirror
