Over 300 films waiting for release!

Over 300 films waiting for release!

Some abandoned, some forgotten, the number of films waiting for a release in K-Town is fast rising

Shankaran Malini

The year 2011 saw around 135 films release in K-Town. If you thought this number was big, the number of pending projects queued up for release is over 300! While some are stuck because there isn't much finance to see their release through, others have their teams abandoning them for newer projects.
One such example is director Thirumalairajan, whose directorial debut, 2010 Bhagyaraj, commenced shoot the same year. While the film has a small portion left to shoot, the director has already released a Tamil film in Malaysia. "My Malaysian movie Zha released recently. 2010 Bhagyaraj, with Premgi in the lead, got delayed owing to production problems and the fact that Premgi sported a new look for Mankatha."
Thankar Bachan's four-year-old film Kalavaadiya Pozhudugal, is still waiting for a release. "I don't see any hopes of the film releasing in the near future, considering there is no response whatsoever from the producers' side. I have no idea as to what is happening on their front. My job and commitment as a filmmaker is done; the rest is their responsibility," he says.
Krishna Leelai, directed by Selvan with Jeevan and Meghna Raj in the lead, is waiting for a release for three years now. Director Selvan says, "I went on a fast and submitted an open letter demanding my distributors release the film to no avail. Meanwhile, I have acted in another film as hero."
Another project that is stuck is Leelai, which has Bollywood face Shiv Pundit in the lead. Director, Andrew Vasanth Louis, had posted on his site that he was hopeful that the film would release in December 2011, "after all the hardship, insult and discouragement".
The Jai-Poorna starrer, Arjunanin Kadhali, directed by Parthy Baskar, has been stuck abruptly with portions left to be shot. Although, Jai maintains, "I've finished shooting my portions for the film long back. I'm doubtful if the film will be completed, let alone see a release." No wonder, he's already moved on to many new projects.
A source says, "A film like Sadurangam released last year after being in the cans for over five years. There are many reasons that stall projects midway. We cannot write these projects off. Though, it may take up to years for them to be revived."
Will these films ever see the light of day? And what happens to the amounts invested by producers? Will they ever recover their money? Only time will tell.

A still from
2010 Bhagyaraj

A still from
Krishna Leelai

A still from Leelai

BIG BOON FOR SMALL FILMS

The producers' council wants to level the playing field for small films and plans to restrict the release of big films to five festival days

M Suganth

In an effort to promote small films, Tamil film producers have decided that big films should be released only on festival days and public holidays. T Siva, vice president, Tamil Film Producers' Council (TFPC), said, "We have zeroed in on five days when these films can be released — Pongal, Tamil New Year, May Day, Independence Day and Deepavali."
While small films that are brave enough to take on the biggies can be released on these five days, Siva adds that the vice versa will not be allowed.
The decision has been taken to help small budget films, which are currently struggling to find screens for release. The decision will come into effect from February 1. "Out of the 142 releases in 2011, only four were superhits while four managed to be profitable for their producers. The other 134 films were more or less washouts and the major reason for this was the unavailability of screens for 70 per cent of the small films," says Siva.
To avoid such scenarios, the producers' council has also decided to restrict the number of films releasing per week to a maximum of three straight films and two dubbed films.
Theatre owners too are welcoming the council's decision. Says Abirami Ramanathan, president, Tamil Nadu Cinema Theatre Owners' Federation, "The council's decision augurs well for the entire industry." He also offers a suggestion, "They could consider some of the recommendations made by the film chamber 25 years ago — one big film and two small films on normal weekends and two big films and three small films on festival days."
Meanwhile, some in the industry are sceptical about the move being enforced. "The council had passed similar decisions earlier but it was never able to enforce them. We hear that a film be classified as big or small based on the cast, the director and its budget. But this is an industry where every hero would like to claim his film as a big film. So, how is the council going to tackle their egos?" asks an industry insider.

Velayudham

Siruthai