The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Lukewarm response to new Kannada films

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Saturday, Sep 11, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Lukewarm response to new Kannada films

By Our Staff Reporter

While not many turned up to watch the Kannada films Prana and Yahoo, there were also no queues at this theatre in Bangalore where an English film was screened on Friday. — Photo: K. Gopinathan

BANGALORE, SEPT. 10. Amid the differences between cinema owners and the Kannada Film Producers' Association (KFPA), two Kannada films were released in Bangalore and elsewhere on Friday. The dispute is over the seven-week "ban" on the release of non-Kannada films in the State.

Many cinema owners felt that the release of the Kannada films, Prana and Yahoo, was a "non-event." They were aware of the ground realities and did not want to prevent new Kannada films from being released. They had only deferred the release of new Kannada films for a week, they said.

With the release of the two films it should not be construed that cinema owners had given up their demands. They could not say why big banner films such as Upendra's Omkara and Vishnuvardhan's Sahukara had not been released.

Many Kannada producers said that the response to Prana and Yahoo, being screened at Nartaki and Majestic cinemas, respectively, here was lukewarm.

The turnout was also low at theatres which began to screen English films.

Simultaneous release

Meanwhile, the Government is said to have convened a meeting of the K.P. Pandey Committee on Monday. The committee is likely to ask the exhibitors not to insist on simultaneous release of other language films and, with that, put an end to the seven-week delay row.

The film producers' association has convened a special meeting of the Kannada cinema industry on Sunday.

The meeting is scheduled to deliberate on a wide range of issues, including the launching of a "Gokak-type agitation."

The president of the Karnataka Cinema Theatre Owners' Association, H.D. Kumaraswamy, told The Hindu that the association would chalk out its programme only after knowing the outcome of the Pandey Committee meeting.

Asked whom he would hold responsible for the unsigned press releases issued under his name, Mr. Kumaraswamy said: "No unsigned release issued under my name is valid. I am responsible for any release signed by me."

Apology sought

The film producers' association president, Basanthkumar Patil, in a release on Friday said the reported comment on producer-director S.V. Rajendra Singh by Mr. Kumaraswamy was not against just an individual but against all producers and directors of Kannada films and he should apologise.

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Lukewarm response to new Kannada films

No time for investigation?

More wet evenings likely