Reign of the superstars
SREEDHAR PILLAI
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The box office collections in the first half of 2006 indicate that superstars continue to hold sway in Mollywood.
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MUGHALS OF MOLLYWOOD: Mohanlal and Meera Jasmine in 'Rasathantram.'
The superstar domination continues in Malayalam cinema during the first half of 2006. There were 25 releases between January 28 and June 30. The first film of this period, `Lion,' was released on January 28 and `Aswaroodan' on June 30.
Of this, only nine were profitable with `Rasathantram' a blockbuster, `Thuruppugulan' a super hit, and `Chinthamani Kolacase,' `Lion,' `Balram Vs Taradas' and `Vadakkumnathan' being hits.
Dileep in 'Lion'
'Madhuchandralekha,' `Kilukkam Kilukilukkam' and `Tanmatra' will recover its cost and break even. While 36 per cent success ratio is good for the industry, it is undoubtedly Mohanlal and Mammootty who rule the roost in Kerala with Dileep and Suresh Gopi just behind the duo.
Struggle of the youth brigade
The youth brigade of Prithviraj, Jayasurya, Arun and others continues to struggle and could not make any ripples at the box-office.
For instance, Prithviraj's `Vargam' was a racy entertainer but the film somehow failed to rake in the moolah while films with bold or different themes like `Achanurangatha Veedu,' `Pulijanmam' and `Nottam' found it difficult to get playing time in the theatres.
The box office collection reiterates the fact that the star system lords over Malayalam cinema like never before.
Said a prominent theatre owner in Malappuram district: "Our first preference is Mammootty or Mohanlal films and then comes Dileep and Suresh Gopi."
Mammootty and Sneha in 'Thuruppugulan'.
This insistence on the films of superstars is on account of box office economics. Mammootty's `Rajamanickam' is a good example. Released last year, the film completed its 100 days at Kavitha, Ernakulam, from where it got a record distributors' share of Rs. 42 lakhs. Mohanlal's `Rasathantram' has collected Rs. 10.60 crore and in the long run it will get a distributors' share of Rs. 6 crore from theatres alone.
Opening weekend
The worldwide trend is that films that take a bumper opening in its opening weekend (Friday to Sunday) will turn out to be a winner. What makes Mohanlal and Mammootty so hot in the trade is that their films take a fantastic opening. Now following the new trend, producers in Malayalam are also trying to come out with a number of prints. This year, Mammootty's `Balram Vs Taradas' grossed Rs. 14.36 lakhs from two theatres in Thiruvananthapuram in its opening week but later took a beating. But still the film became profitable on account of the bumper collection.
According to Alex George of Central Pictures, one of the oldest distribution company in Kerala: "Malayalam film business has undergone a sea change. Today, the trend is to release a film with maximum number of prints and get returns from the first week itself."
George, who had distributed `Rasathantram,' feels that superstars always ensure an opening and are safe bets. Yet he is optimistic that a new breed of young stars will emerge soon. Every industry, be it Bollywood, Kollywood or Tollywood, has its young and vibrant brigade of young heroes below 30 like Shahid Kapoor in Hindi, Silambarasan in Tamil or Allu Arjun in Telugu. But strangely, in Malayalam, there are no young heroes and those who have tried like Prithviraj, Jayasurya, Arun and Madhu Warrier have come a cropper.
Suresh Gopi in 'Chintamani Kolacase.'
One of the reasons for the audience apathy towards newcomers is that their films look tacky owing to cheap production values and small budgets (between Rs. 50 to 60 lakhs). Compare this to a Tamil film like `Parijatham' which had Prithviraj and Saranya, Bhagyaraj's daughter as heroine, which was a candyfloss love story made on a budget of Rs. 2.25 crores. The film is a huge hit in Tamil Nadu and Prithviraj is all set to be the new teen icon in Kollywood.
But films in this genre are hardly made in Kerala as there is a dearth of young blood as writer-directors. Moreover, the current crop of directors are only interested in getting dates of superstars and making mass masala commercials liberally borrowed from other languages. A film aimed at the youth will click if there is something new in story or presentation along with aggressive marketing.
Films like `Manjil Virinja Pookal,' `Aniyathipravu' and `Niram' were super hits as they followed this pattern. But, sadly, today there are no big distributors who can push a film through marketing techniques. The over-dependence on the star system has resulted in less number of films and the cost of making star movies has shot up. Production of films is likely to come down this year from 61 films the previous year. Many of the character artistes in Malayalam have switched to serials or comedy shows.
Similarly, heroines from Kerala are making a beeline to Kollywood.
The bottom line is that the box-office is booming for the biggies while the quality of many of the films being churned out is abysmal.
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