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Photo: G. Moorthy

Buoyant String of good releases but poor crowd response

If the fans of tinsel hero Ajit, fondly called ‘thala’ (leader), are a disappointed lot, so too are the fans of Vikram. For their movies ‘Billa’ and ‘Bheema,’ slated for Deepavali, got delayed.

For the fans of Vijay, Surya and Dhanush, it has been a real feast with the release of ‘Azhagiya Tamizhmagan’, ‘Vel’ and ‘Pollathavan’. The moviegoers are in for a ‘double’ treat this Deepavali with Vijay and Surya performing dual roles. Joining them in the race is Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan in ‘Om Shanti Om.’

Popularly referred as ATM in the cine circle, ‘Azhagiya Tamizhmagan’ has enough material for Vijay fans to cheer about. Bharathan, the director of the movie had taken the time-tested path of a conventional Tamil potpourri. The movie is a thorough mass entertainer with all essential ingredients to attract an average viewer. Songs composed by A.R. Rahman have made its own impact, though his fans are not that satisfied with the numbers compared to those of the star’s earlier movie ‘Pokkiri’.

R. Parameswaran, who runs a tailoring unit and does not miss the magic of watching the movie on the opening day, is thrilled: “Of course, Vijay has given his might in the film. But the songs have belied the expectations of his fans. We expect at least one song in the movie to be in folksy style. But in this movie we don’t have such a foot-tapping number, though ‘Maduraikku pogatheenga…’ number comes closer. But for the remix of ‘Ponmagal vanthal… fans would have been disappointed.”

While director Hari’s ‘Vel’ starring Surya and Asin is also doing good business. Dhanush fans are buoyant over ‘Pollathavan’. For, already the movie is showing results. With two of his earlier movies flopping, there was much apprehension about the star’s next venture. Dhanush has proved his detractors wrong with his hard work. The fans are ecstatic with the remix of ‘Engaeyum eppothum …’ Music director G.V. Prakash Kumar, has proved his mettle once again.

Amidst the stiff competition, one movie that is making inroads silently is Radaan pictures’ ‘Kannamoochi Enada’ starring Sathyaraj, Radhika, Prithviraj and Sangeetha.

Directed by the promising ‘Kanda naal muthal’ fame Priya, this family entertainer goes round like a gentle breeze among the whirlwind.

Locking horns with the Tamil blockbusters are two Hindi movies, which have entered the fray with a lot of promise. SRK’s ‘Om Shanthi Om’ and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Saawariya’ are vying with other Tamil releases.

With a string of frontrunners released this Deepavali, movie aficionados are a pleased lot. But, are the film exhibitors happy with the crowd response to the movies? Has inflated ticket rates affected their business?

P. Kumaresan, one of the top film exhibitors in the city and a lessee of six theatres, expresses concern over the dwindling number of filmgoers.

“More than the competition between the movies, there is a stiff tussle among the exhibitors to screen the films. Earlier, a film was released in one theatre and there was every chance of getting maximum number of people and the film ran for days together at the same theatre. But the numbers had come down with the simultaneous film release in three or four theatres.”

In the city alone, there are around 24 theatres that screen big-budget movies and 10 other cinema halls, which screen small-budget films. If one counts the number of movies released for this Deepavali it is lesser in number. Besides, the soaring minimum guarantee money demanded by distributor force film exhibitors to share film screening prompting simultaneous release of the movie in three or four theatres.

“Every theatre owner would have developed a rapport with a distributor. We are in a position to screen movies featuring lesser-known actors, released by the distributor, to gain the confidence of the distributor only to clinch a deal when he releases a big-starrer. Besides, we are offered a big banner movie only after we part with minimum guarantee money to our distributors. Hence, we have no other go but to inflate the ticket rates during the initial days of the film release to get back our money,” he says with a heavy heart.

Compounding the problem, the satellite channel invasion and CD piracy menace are eating up the revenue of the film exhibitors. Pirated CDs and DVDs are available in market with in days of film release for a meagre sum.

“We are burning our midnight oil to improve facilities at theatres to attract more people to theatres. Right from seating arrangement to parking facilities, we are concentrating on developing infrastructure facilities in cinema halls. Besides, for better film viewing, we have digitised projection equipment for crystal clear pictures, installed advanced DTS system for sound clarity. We are also planning to improve amenities in the theatre,” Mr. Kumaresan says.

All said and done, there is nothing like watching a movie in a cinema hall. The ambience, the thrill and the pleasure of chilling out with mouth melting ice creams during the intervals, remain unmatched.

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