Kollywood in a flap

Kollywood, it seems, is in the midst of a crisis। First, a big budget movie like Kuselan turned out to be a colossal failure. Then, to add to it, last week’s release, Satyam, has taken a poor opening, putting a question mark on the fate of star-studded action movies. The signals from tinsel town are disturbing. On Monday, an emergency meeting of the members of the Kanchivaram and Thiruvalluvar District Theatre Owners Association, the most powerful theatre association which controls all the screens in the NSC area, known for reporting high collections in Tamil Nadu, was held in Chennai. The members have demanded that they be compensated for the loss they have incurred as a result of Kuselan’s lacklustre performance at the box-office. They claim that they have lost nearly 75 percent of the MG (Minimum Guarantee) amount they paid to the distributors. P Kannappan, Secretary of the association says: "The owners of nearly 375 screens which released Kuselan in Tamil Nadu, who have paid attractive MGs (Minimum Guarantee), have suffered huge losses. We paid huge MGs, as director P Vasu, producers Kavithalaya and Seven Arts assured us that it was a full-length Rajinikanth film like Sivaji. But we were taken for a ride." They have now issued a ban on Kavithalaya , which has three films under production, and Seven Arts. "Rajinikanth’s fans felt let down by the film. He was hardly there for 40 minutes whereas the producers and Vasu had palmed it off as a full length Rajinikanth mass film with fights, romance, villain, and punch lines. Unfortunately, it lacked the usual elements associated with the superstar, and our audiences cannot be conned. For them, it was a Pasupathy film at the end of the day and they rejected it," claims S P Palaniappan of Kasi theatre in Chennai and President of the association. R Pannerselvam, General Secretary of Tamil Nadu Film Exhibitors Association and owner of the popular Rohini Multiplex in Koyembedu, says, "All over Tamil Nadu, people lost their MG amount. We want Rajini sir to intervene and sort out the issue amicably. We have faith in Rajinikanth, a gentleman who keeps his word. When his Baba failed, he compensated our losses immediately. Please note that the amount we have raised as MG to give to the distributors is taken from moneylenders at high interest rates." The buzz in the market is that Rajinikanth who has come back from the US will once again sort out the issue. He has agreed to pay a part of the compensation package from the remuneration he got for the film, and is now persuading producers to chip in with the rest of the amount. Meanwhile, the market has crashed and producers and distributors are finding it difficult to release their films. Satyam itself found it difficult to release as theatre owners refused to pay even 50 percent of the MG they paid Kuselan, and now with its lukewarm opening, they are keeping away from new releases. Says Pannerselvam: "The market conditions are bad. What guarantee is there a new release will ensure collections? We will not be paying anymore huge MGs as it is not viable, and recovery has become a problem." This development can only spell bad news for the slew of new releases lined up for the coming weeks, including the Diwali biggies.
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