Is Kannada losing the pan-India plot?

Kranti

On the day Kabzaa released worldwide, the makers announced that the film’s leading actor Upendra would be “celebrating the film’s success with fans” at one of the single screens in Bengaluru. Many on social media took a dig at how soon director R Chandru and team had arrived at a conclusion that Kabzaa was a hit.

A few hours before the announcement, Chandru was seen talking to reporters outside another single screen, saying how fans reacted to the entry of the three stalwarts — Upendra, Sudeep and Shivarajkumar — in the period gangster drama. “The theatre almost collapsed with the screams of fans when they came on screen,” said a smiling Chandru.

Clearly, he wasn’t bothered about how people were reacting to his film on different platforms online. He had shut his eyes to early reports about the film just like he had blindly followed the growing phenomenon of pan-Indian films.

Kabzaa breached the 100-crore mark in two days, claimed the makers. Many called it a contentious box office verdict. The film might not have burnt a hole in the producer’s pocket but it also didn’t excite fans, both in and outside Karnataka.

In the opening week, a popular ticketing website showed people’s lack of interest in the film.

Couple of screens appeared in red (indicating that the show is fast filling) while the rest looked green (tickets available in plenty). “It’s greener than Lalbagh,” joked a fan on social media, posting a screenshot of the ticketing website.

It’s astonishing how soon films like Kabzaa, Darshan’s Kranti, and to some extent, Shivarajkumar’s Vedha, were dismissed by people. Cinegoers seem to have turned ruthless, especially after how their expectations were increased last year with blockbusters such as KGF: Chapter 2, 777 Charlie, and Kantara.

After a terrific year, it appears as if Kannada film directors are more interested in jumping in the bandwagon of making big-budget films than actually delivering films of high quality. More than the content, everything else makes noise prior to the release of a big film.

An unofficial media ban on Darshan made buzz during the promotional stage of ‘Kranti’, a film that criticises the privatisation of education. Darshan promised to talk to more than 100 YouTube channels and his fans called it an unprecedented development. Yes, it could have been something unusual but it didn’t change how poorly the film was made in all departments.

As for Chandru, he never stopped talking about working 24/7 and the “hard work” that went into making the film. Shouldn’t he have cared a bit for a solid storyline? The absence of creativity and a director’s vision is evident in ‘Kabzaa’. For instance, the film is supposed to be set in pre and post Independence times but the backdrop has little to make you believe that the audience is watching a story of the 1940s.

“The content has to be new. It has to be something intriguing so that we become curious about it. None of the recent big Kannada films post ‘Kantara’ had such a story,” points out film critic Kairam Vaashi.

Directors need to have a basic understanding of a ‘pan-India’ story. "Big films that have worked have worked with the masses have had fairytale-like stories,” says film critic S Shyam Prasad. For instance, in Ramayana, Shravana Kumara’s parents are hermits who are visually impaired. He decides to fulfill his parents’ wish of seeing sacred places. Now replace parents with a dog’s character and you get a 777 Charlie. In another example, replace the parents with a terminally ill heroine and you get an ‘Amrithadare’,” he explains. The idea is to build on a simple storyline with unique imagination that thrills the audience, something that we saw in successful films like 'RRR' and 'KGF: Chapter 2'.

In fact, with the success of the KGF franchise, the Kannada film industry has started witnessing an increase in big films. In 2007, with the gargantuan success of Mungaru Male, producers believed that it was possible to taste success with modest investments. From producing 60-70 films, soon the Kannada film industry began making 200-240 films a year. In this rush to capitalise on a trend, not all producers survived.

Mixed and underwhelming results could make producers watchful of their next decisions, feels Shyam Prasad. “A pan-Indian film, especially a period drama, burdens the producer because the production will involve recreating the period unless contemporary films that can be shot on live locations. The KGF films showed that you can invest 40-50 crore in a Kannada film and reap benefits. However, if we don’t see similar results, producers might become cautious and not show faith in such ideas,” he reasons.

Today, with multiple satellite and OTT rights at play, filmmakers have more avenues to make money but they must be careful, warns veteran producer Rockline Venkatesh. “You will see more directors pitching pan-India projects to producers. We must be wary of such approaches. Apart from that, it’s important to have a universal story, star power and a proper marketing plan to make the most from a pan-Indian film. Films without A-list stars must not mindlessly spend on promotion and wait for a strong word of mouth. Kantara adopted that method well,” he says.

That said, despite having A-list stars, Kranti, Kabzaa and Vedha came with minimal promotion despite being announced as films aimed at a pan-India audience. It felt as if the filmmakers took the pan-India wave as an excuse to sell their products in the initial phase.

The Kannada film industry, having drawn people’s attention towards it in 2022, was expected to take bigger strides this year. What goes up must come down, but Kannada cinema fans hope the fall isn’t so much that it makes the rise to the top look like a one-off achievement.