It appears neither demonetisation nor the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime has impacted the Kannada cinema industry, at least for now, in terms of the number of films produced. By the end of July, the number of releases had crossed 100.
In the corresponding period last year, the number of releases was 107 — exactly the same as this year. By the end of 2016, the total number of releases had hit 180.
“Producers who had launched their films before demonetisation have completed them, though with difficulty, and are releasing them. The impact of GST is yet to be felt by producers as confusion prevails over the new tax regime,” said K.V. Chandrashekar, former president, Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC).
Though it was feared that new productions would not be launched, given the air of uncertainty over the GST regime, it has not happened going by the number of releases.
Not many hits
However, there is a mismatch between releases and success at the box office. The success rate stands at a maximum of 10%. Only Rajakumara starring Puneet Rajkumar, Hebbuli starring Sudeep, Bangaru S/O Bangarada Manjushya starring Shivarajkumar and Ondu Motteya Kathe by newcomer Raj B. Shetty have achieved success at the box office this year. Interestingly, of the 107 films, over 60 are by newcomers.
Barring some like Ondu Motteya Kathe, most failed to make a mark.
Surappa Babu, general secretary, Kannada Film Producers’ Association (KFPA), is among those who believe that film-makers will not be deterred by factors such as demonetisation and GST. “Regardless of success or failure, or economic crisis, producers continue to produce films as they are basically dreamers. Issues such as demonetisation and GST will not make any difference to them beyond a point,” he said.
Umesh Banakar, member of the Title Registration Committee of KFCC, agrees. He pointed to the number of titles being registered. “On an average, we receive 60 applications for title registration every month, and 500 titles have already been registered so far. At this rate, going by past trends, the number of releases is likely to cross 200 this year,” said Mr. Banakar.
The coming months will see the release of films of reputed stars, including Anjaniputra of Puneet Rajkumar, Tarak of Darshan, Mass Leader and Tagaru of Shivarajkumar, Mugulu Nage of Ganesh, and Upendra Mattomme Hutti Ba of Upendra. Besides these, some independent film-makers and newcomers have also scheduled their projects for release this year.
Earlier this month, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah launched Kurukshetra starring Darshan. It is expected to be most expensive film in the eight-decade-old history of Kannada cinema. It will be the first film to be made on the Mahabharata in Kannada. Naganna is directing the film for producer Munirathna.
