K'WOOD'S SURPRISE PACKAGES OF 2011:Diff Newspapers

THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

As the year comes to a close, Chennai Times tracks the highs and lows of Kollywood during the year

M Suganth•

And finally (though it might seem trifle), from taking plots and tunes, the 'copycat' syndrome has now spread even to film posters, which makes us now ask —where has Kollywood's creativity gone?

2011 was largely a good year for the Tamil film industry in terms of awards and recognition, though the number of releases dipped marginally (142 against 149 in 2010). While collection figures of films remain shrouded in a cloud of secrecy due to reluctance on the part of producers and actors to reveal the exact figures, trade sources opine that the box office revenue too is below the previous year's. Here's a lowdown on K-Town's conquests and controversies this year…
THE GOOD

• Tamil films never had it so good when it came to recognition — the record haul of 12 National Awards certainly ranks as the year's peak. Internationally too, Tamil films grew in stature thanks to the younger crop of filmmakers, like Vetri Maaran, Sarkunam, Myskkin and Suseenthiran, who are coming up with films that were local in content but global in cinematic language. Not surprisingly, many of these films are being screened at global film fests. Thiagarajan Kumararaja's Aaranya Kaandam, even won at the South Asian International Film Festival.

• 2011 was also the year when Kollywood finally woke up to the potential of the Internet and started dabbling in viral marketing. While Kolaveri Di… is clearly the face of this new, net savvy Kollywood, the groundwork began with the trend of releasing singles and shooting promo videos. Many actors joined the social network bandwagon, promoting their films with a vengeance and interacting with their fans.

• The industry also discovered a new channel of revenue, thanks to the sudden craze for southbased content in Bollywood. Remake rights of Tamil films, which were earlier sold off at a pittance, now cost crores, bringing good cheer to producers.
THE BAD

• The Superstar's hospitalisation was the biggest scare of the year. While he has reportedly now returned to normalcy, the postponement of Rana (which he is compensating by making the motion-capture movie Kochadaiyan) did cause concern.

• In addition to a not-so-great performance at the BO, the industry suffered a double blow when the government decided to increase the entertainment tax. While the movie-going public was spared this burden (ticket rates remained the same), the move was certainly bad news for theatre owners who were already reeling under diminished footfalls.

• And finally, as is the case in every year, this year too, many films suffered due to the lack of proper release schedules. Around 55 films, which were censored between January and November, are still lying in the cans. The reasons range from lack of buyers to issues between the crew, to lack of adequate number of screens.
THE UGLY

• The Sona-S P Charan episode certainly was the lowest point this year for KTown. The truth behind the happenings at that ill-fated party will forever elude us, but it certainly showed that the industry does have an ugly side.

• Closely rivaling the incident is the increasing control that fringe political outfits have begun to exert on the industry. From threatening artists to protesting against films (Dam999 being the prime example) and disrupting shoots, these activists seemed to have only one agenda — gaining publicity at the cost of the films. The lack of unity between the various industry associations only made their task easier.