Tinsel town: Jigarthanda misses out on non-Tamil audiences

Industry experts say the film would have had more audiences if it had been released with English subtitles

August 29, 2014 01:47 am | Updated 08:12 am IST

Karthik Subburaj, director of 'Jigarthanda', says every film must release with English subtitles in other States, so they can cater to newer audiences

Karthik Subburaj, director of 'Jigarthanda', says every film must release with English subtitles in other States, so they can cater to newer audiences

No Tamil film in recent past has garnered as much unanimous positive review — stoking the interest of critics and film lovers throughout the country — as filmmaker Karthik Subbaraj’s Jigarthanda .

Though it has had a decent run in cities such as Mumbai, it hasn’t managed to attract non-Tamil audiences, despite having the potential to do so.

Industry trackers say the film would have had more audiences had the film released with English subtitles.

Mr. Subbaraj agrees with the assessment but says it wasn’t under his control.

“Yesterday too, we had a private screening with English subtitles for an audience comprising mostly non-Tamils. Many of them said they were able to appreciate the film better, and understand certain specific contexts. I wanted to add the subtitles much earlier. But somehow, that never happened,” he says.

While rejecting the notion that the film would have raked in more money, Karthik says it would have certainly got him a larger audience.

He believes that every film must release with English subtitles in other States, so they can cater to a newer audience, beyond just the traditional Tamil audiences.

“I personally know of people who returned home after learning that Jigarthanda was being screened without subtitles. We are not catering to the audience that wants to see our films,” he says.

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