What is a good strategy for newcomers to get their films screened at multiplexes? Thithi, for instance, despite all the buzz, has managed to get only one show at every multiplex it is being shown in. Films of debut directors, especially those that do not have a star-studded-cast, usually face the risk of being thrown out of multiplexes after the first week.
Last year in July, RangiTaranga went through a similar predicament but it tackled the threat head-on and emerged as the most successful Kannada film in recent times.
RangiTaranga has had more than 5,500 shows and in its 45th week, continues to have 14 shows per week. This is a crucial exception in the Kannada film industry where films celebrate their second week run itself! RangiTaranga managed to beat even star-studded commercial films such as Mr. and Mrs. Ramachari , which had 4,574 shows and Ranna which had 3,349 shows. And this is excluding the overseas run of RangiTaranga .
It is also the only Kannada film to make the top 50 in the BookmyShow blockbuster list, which is based on multiplex collections.
Anup Bhandari, the director of the film, traces the film’s journey.
“We had to struggle to get multiplex screens initially. Often we would find that our posters were not put up or the standees were in the storage department. We had to fight for it. Moreover, a week after our film released, Bahubali released and the multiplexes focused on giving it more shows.”
How does this bargain work? Can the distributor of the film demand a certain number of shows?
Or is it really up to the exhibitor? “Well, for newcomer films, even if you ask for it, unless you are related to the multiplex owner, you are not likely to get shows. The shows are allotted according to certain ‘market factors’ such as crowd pullers, stars etc. And a newcomer’s film has lesser chances of getting a lot of screens.”
“It is a good strategy, therefore, to start small and then grow because at least then there are chances that you’ll have houseful shows in the first few days, if your film is good. And, you can demand more in the next week.
If you have five shows a day and you end up running empty, then you cannot even make a case for it for another week.”
Peculiar to the Kannada industry is also the fact that there are at least five or six releases each week. And a lot of the films are lost within the first week itself. “The problem is with the fact that today anyone and everyone is making films. There is a misconception that if you have 20 to 30 lakhs, you can make a film. The economic logic behind this is the impression that television will buy the film and through that at least the 20-30 lakhs that they have spent can be recovered. And, whatever you get from theatres then will be a profit. But the harsh truth is that TV is not buying films. The reality is it takes 20-30 lakhs to promote the film itself and at least four to five lakhs to get your film screened at a multiplex each week,” he reveals.
Bhandari adds that things are changing for Kannada cinema though.
“Films like Naanu Avanalla Avalu and now Thithi have managed to secure a release. So, perhaps it is up to all of us to make good films and encourage this trend.”
