A successful year indeed

Looking back

This year’s ‘report card’ for the Kannada film industry is out. With close to 130 releases as compared to 103 in 2012, the year has seen a steady improvement in both quantity and quality.

Trade analysts says that this year has beaten the record of 2010, which saw 127 releases — the highest ever till now. While the success and failure rates differ every year, the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) says that this year has seen more hits than flops. “Compared to last year, this year has been far more successful. Close to 60 per cent of the releases have been an above average or average success,” says Gangaraju, president of the KFCC.

With an average of Rs 2 crore being spent on a movie, most movies this year have broken even and made money as well. “Interestingly, the small-budget movies have worked this year at the box office,” adds Gangaraju.

The first release this year was Galate. But it failed to create waves at the box office. This was followed by a series of average films. It was the young film-makers who offered something new with different scripts, songs and fantastic picturisation. The first hit of the year was the Prem and Meghana Gaonkar-starrer Charminar, directed by R Chandru. This was Chandru’s third film in a row to have completed 100 days and this was all because of its strong story.

Following Charminar was Nagashekar’s intense love story Mynaa, starring Chetan and Nithya Menon. Simple Aagi Ondhu Love Story (SAOLS) by debutant director Suni also set the cash registers ringing. Varadhanayaka and Bachchan also emerged as hits and movies like Googli, Rajahuli, ‘Victory’, Brindavana and Bul Bul did well.

A highlight, however, was Pawan Kumar’s Lucia, which was the first Kannada movie to be crowd-funded. “When we started Lucia, we were hoping to bring a change in the industry. The response we received was just overwhelming,” says Pawan Kumar. The success of Lucia also proved to be an encouragement to other films like Santosh’s Gombegala Love, Giriraj’s Jatta and newbie GS Kumar’s ‘6 - 5 = 2’.  

While Puneeth Rajkumar didn’t have any release this year, it was actor Yash who topped the box office with hits like Googli and Rajahuli. Sudeep came close with releases like Varadhanayaka and Bachchan followed by Darshan with Bul Bul. Shivarajkumar finally broke his dry spell at the box office with a massive hit at the end of the year — A Harsha’s Bhajarangi.

When it comes to heroines, 2013 saw many fresh faces. Though there was no leading lady in particular to top the box office, actress Harshika Poonachcha did make a mark with ‘B3 — Love You’, which saw her shed her girl-next-door image.

The year also had its share of controversies. One of the highlights was Duniya Vijay filing for a divorce from wife Nagarathna after a 14-year-long marriage. Actress Shubha Punja was pulled into the controversy as well. Another controversy involved actor
Komal, who told actress Ramya to take some time out to complete her films.

In 2014, however, fans are in for a treat as many projects featuring top actors are lined up for release. From Puneeth Rajkumar’s Ninnindale, Darshan’s Ambareesha, Sudeep’s Manikya to Yash’s Gajakesari, all have already created a hype in the industry. But what will be their fate at the box office? One just has to wait and watch!