Chennai is a sea of humans wading in murky waters searching for tiny islands. The tales of misery and anguish are heart rending. Entertainment is the last thing on anybody’s mind. Suhasini has mentioned suffering nightmares of being engulfed in water. It’s heart warming to see the film fraternity unite and contribute not just financially but visiting and distributing basic necessities. Stars like Siddarth, Vishal and Karthi can be called heroes now along with an army of tireless volunteers.
Even as the city is limping back to a semblance of normalcy there’s an air of melancholy in the movie industry. Films are flopping with alarming regularity and the rains that have ravaged Chennai only helped in piling up producer’s miseries. The release of the long delayed ‘Rajni Murugan’ had to be postponed again.
The much expected film was seen as a ray of hope for Tirupathi Brothers, the production company owned by director Lingusamy and mired in financial wrangles. Some of the producer’s tales of woes can send shock waves down your spine. They seem to be gasping in a quagmire of debts definitely not because of the relentless deluge.
Sources say some of the biggest names like ‘Ascar’ Ravichandran, Lingusamy and Gnanavel Raja are struggling to stay afloat. With the financial noose tightening, the irony is that they have to keep producing or creditors will kick the stool. Not everyone is lucky enough to bounce back like AM Ratnam who has the sustained blessings of Ajit. A producer’s financial faux pas starts with the over-confidence of sustained success.
Ratnam who made blockbusters like ‘Indian’ and ‘Mudhalvan’ made the mistake of introducing his diminutive son in an ambitious extravaganza. Ratnam slipped into the shadows till Ajit bailed him out. His ‘Vedalam’ would probably have done even better if the skies had not opened up.
In this dim scenario you have to hand it to Lyca Productions for going ahead with ‘Endhiran 2’, a film with a ‘fluid’ budget as a chartered accountant friend in the know termed it. He has the onerous task of controlling the finances of a film without a definite budget.
The cold fact is that Shanker’s two previous films ‘Nanban’ and the much hyped ‘I’ did not set the box-office on fire. Rajinikanth’s last hit was ‘Endhiran’ five years ago. The sequel has been in the pipeline for awhile. To jog one’s memory, the original producers of ‘Endhiran’, Ayngaran developed cold feet as the budget escalated. Rajni had to request Kalanidhi Maran to take over. Kala, it’s reliably rumoured, was not happy with the returns.
The success of ‘Bahubali’, I suspect, fuelled Shanker’s ambitions. On the lookout for a worthy adversary, Kamal was first approached but the actor politely backed out. The next big name touted was Vikram. Now it’s Arnold Schwarznegger. The aging terminator is yet to give the nod according to reliable sources. The spending has started in real earnest. The director and crew have made several trips to Los Angeles to scout locations and for technical collaboration. “These guys are crazy,” says my friend. “Nearly seventy percent of the budget is for salaries.” The production cost alone is being pegged at around 170 crores. It could be more which is why it’s being termed ‘fluid’.
Shanker has already ordered the purchase of ten brand new trucks costing one crore rupees each. He’s also asked for a huge stretch of road to be laid inside a studio.
The film could finally end up costing around four hundred crores. Now how much will the film have to earn for the producer to just break even since all the box-office figures bandied around are gross earnings? Ultimately, it will be the cast and crew who’ll be the only definite gainers.
It is high time hot-shot directors and so-called superstars had the guts to forego their remuneration in favour of a share in profits. Production will be relatively safer and the stakes even. The spending will also be more prudent. Last week, the director’s flight from LA was diverted to Bangalore.
The director promptly hired a luxury cab and upon reaching Chennai called the producer’s office for the fare. When the staff suggested that since it was pouring, they could pay now and collect the amount later, the director’s aide was livid.
“Whenever they’re questioned about extravagance they remind me that I’m clueless about cinema. I retort that I may be ignorant about films but have been dealing with figures for the past few decades and know when the spending is unnecessary,” says my chartered accountant friend with a cynical shake of his head.
sshivu@yahoo.com
