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Mollywood: more flops than hits in 2008

KOCHI: Malayalam film industry has little to celebrate in 2008.

Flops outnumbered hits in a year marked by a slump in film production and distribution. The number of films churned out every year seems to be on the decline. Only around 55 films were made in 2008. And only four films clicked at the box-office. The lucky ones include Mammootty’s Annan Thampi; Mohanlal’s Madambi; Jayaram’s Veruthe Oru Bharya; and Dileep’s Twenty20.

In terms of quality, there was nothing much to cheer about last year. The run-of-the-mill stories and the oft-repeated formula found expression in a majority of the scripts. Even the box-office hit movies were no different.

Mammootty’s Annan Thampi was a pot-boiler. It had everything mixed in the right dose. Fights, songs, comedy, and a climax where the hero always triumphs. Mohanlal’s Madambi reminded the audience of several of his earlier movies where the hero was always mistaken by others but in the end he turns out to be the real saviour.

But the real hero of 2008 was none other than actor Jayaram.

He broke all expectations and emerged the winner. Director Akku Akbar’s Veruthe Oru Bharya came at a time when exhibitors had even refused to hold over a Jayaram movie.

Distributors refused to fund the actor’s movies saying his career was over. But the plot changed thanks to the excellent script by K. Gireeshkumar that paved the way for a roaring return of the actor. Actor Gopika, who quit the industry after this movie, also came up with an outstanding performance in a role that was rejected by many prominent heroines.

The year also proved monumental for the actor-turned-producer Dileep as he laughed all the way to the bank with Twenty20, his home production. The film broke all earlier records and set the cash registers ringing from day one.

The movie could generate pre-release hype for bringing all the lead actors on a single platform. Even though the movie fails to offer anything new in terms of story telling or narrative, the perfect weaving of lead actors into the main script worked at the box-office and also earned applause from the fans.

Despite the downward trend, the cost of making a Malayalam movie escalated in 2008.

A movie having Mohanlal or Mammootty in the lead role touched the Rs. 3 crore and above mark sans the publicity cost.

Producers admitted that 60 per cent of the total cost was spent on the fee for actors. The lead actors refused to cut their pay packets and a section of producers, distributors and exhibitors supported them by backing only their movies.

New filmmakers continued to struggle, with little support from producers. Even the government failed to support them going by the decline in the number of movies getting financial assistance from the government for film production.

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