The occupancy for these movies in the theatre was more compared to some commercial movies released during the same period. And, that has inspired the producers to conduct many more such experiments across the State.
Four award winning movies - Artha, Gubbachchigalu, Daatu and Banada Neralu were screened at Kailash theatre in Gandhinagar for a week from October 30. For the first time such an experiment was made in Kannada film industry. On an average the occupancy was around 50 pc in all the shows. As all the four producers shared the investment the burden was not much.
All producers spent totally around Rs 1.3 lakh towards theatre rentals and publicity campaign. They got back more than half of their investment. “We did not get the response on par with our expectations. But we are not disappointed. The occupancy in the theatre was more compared to those theatres where commercial movies- Bellary Naga with Vishnuvardhan in the lead and Yogi- were being screened,” said B Suresh producer of Artha and Gubbachchigalu.
Dr M Byregowda, one of the producers of Daatu, said commercially the experiment was not up to the mark. But such an experiment would surely inspire many more producers to screen the movies sharing the investment.
“Nowadays hardly any movie makes money. In such a condition we cannot expect huge returns by screening art movies,” Suresh said. The four movies have won several national and international awards. But the public did not have the opportunity to watch them all these days. This experiment gave a good opportunity for people who love good cinema.
“I was surprised to see some people watch all the four movies in a single day. Many took leave from their job for two days and watched the films,” said Umakanth, director of Banada Neralu. He felt if he and his friends had spent some more on publicity they would have received better response from the public.
Tickets for the movies were available at three different prices - Rs 30, 40 and 50. Umakanth said there were viewers in all categories. “Price of tickets also matter a lot. We can’t attract viewers if ticket price is high as in case of many cinema halls,” he said.
