Theatre artiste Vijaykumar Kodialbail, who produced Oriyardori Asal , which has completed 112 days in theatres, said that if the film chamber relaxed certain rules for regional language films, production costs could be cut down.
Mr. Kodialbail was addressing presspersons here on Thursday during an interaction organised by the Dakshina Kannada Working Journalists' Union.
Mr. Kodialbail said that if some of the rules of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce were relaxed, the producers of films made in languages such as Tulu (which has a limited audience) could save up to Rs. 20 lakh.
Giving instances of where producers could save money, Mr. Kodialbail said filmmakers were forced to hire art directors recognised by the chamber even when they knew nothing of the aesthetics of the region when it came to Yakshagana or Bhootaradhane .
He said the art director would have to be paid only to include the name in the title card, because the real work would have been done by someone else. Similarly, despite availability of local talent, dancers had to be hired from the chamber. Cooks too, had to be brought all the way from Bangalore, Mr. Kodialbail added.
A system should be in place to enable producers to release the film simultaneously in different parts of the country, to enable the producer to “survive”, Mr. Kodialbail said.
To a question on criticism from some quarters about the comic incidents during a scene of a ‘Bhootakola' in the film. Mr. Kodialbail said it was not meant to ridiculed, rather it was to imitate what happens.
Mr. Kodialbail spoke about the economics of recovering investment and ensuring the success of the film.
He said he recovered 80 per cent of the investment in the film (Rs. 1 crore) and expected to make a profit of about Rs. 40 lakh. Despite the success of the film, he said he was yet to make a “great” film. The film has run for 112 days in two cinema halls in Mangalore, 78 days in Puttur, and Udupi each. The film will be shown in theatres in Sullia, Karkala, and Kasaragod.
Attributing the success of the film to good acting and good marketing, Mr. Kodiabail described how he had promoted the film in some places in Bangalore. Identifying an area of around 500 houses, he had tracked down the newspaper agents and advertised the film by slipping in pamphlets in newspapers.
Giving the example of the 2010 film Dever (god), Mr. Kodialbail said although it was a good film, it did not get the publicity it deserved. However, he added that he would not put as much effort into publicising his next films.
