The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Only 10 Kannada films made the grade in 2008

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Thursday, Jan 01, 2009
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Only 10 Kannada films made the grade in 2008

K.N. Venkatasubba Rao

There were highs and lows in a listless year

Total investment of Kannada films released during the year was estimated at Rs. 150 crore
Films depicting violence did not do well

Bangalore: With the outright rejection of 99 of the 116 Kannada films released, the audience gave an overwhelming response to 10 films and average support to seven films in 2008.

Internal squabbles between the Kannada cinema workers and some influential producers; controversies over story rights and censor objections; release of coloured version of the 40-year-old “Satya Harischandra”; national honours for the “Gulabi Talkies”, artiste Umasri and B. Saroja Devi; and election of Jayamala as the first ever woman to chair the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, were the highlights of the 75th year of Kannada cinema.

The death of illustrious artiste-producer M.P. Shankar, lyricist R.N. Jayagopal and director K.V. Jayaram created a vacuum in the industry, which went through a listless year. The total investment of Kannada films released during the year was estimated at Rs. 150 crore.

Investments

Some producers reportedly made investments ranging from Rs. 2.5 crore to Rs. 8 crore, and also claimed huge profits. It is said that majority of the producers made huge sums of money by selling exhibition rights to distributors. But how many distributors succeeded in protecting their investments was not clear.

Right formula

Only films with strong storylines, intelligent screenplay, powerful and entertaining dialogues, pleasing photography and good performance by actors withstood the litmus test, irrespective of the sanctity of their pedigree.

Films such as “Gaja”, “Buddhivantha”, “Galipata”, “Taj Mahal”, “Mussanje Maathu”, “Aramane”, “Vamshi”, “Navagraha” and “Nanda Nandita” came under this category.

Films that suffered

On the other hand, films that depended on the image of their lead stars and violence met their fate at the hands of a matured audience. Films “Bindas”, “Arjun”, “Gooli”, “Madesha” and “Bombat” fell into this category.

Kavita Lankesh’s “Avva” and Baragur Ramachandrappa’s “Thayi” succumbed to its own intellectual pretensions and incongruities, while Girish Kasaravalli’s acclaimed “Gulabi Talkies” was surprised by the audience taste for such films.

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