A spate of small budget films in Tamil this year beat the biggies at their own game! Sridevi Sreedhar takes stock It started as something that industry pundits sat up and took notice of, somewhere in the beginning of the year and eight months into 2009, the trend was pretty much and irreversibly established! The numerous small budget films made and marketed (including print and publicity cost) on a budget of Rs 3 to Rs 6 crores turned out to be bigger box office grosser than anything big! Films like Yaavarum Nalam, Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu, Siva Manasulla Sakthi, Pasanga, Maasailamani, Nadodigal and Maayandi Kudumbathaar were the real winners. Says Tirupur Subramaniam, leading distributor and financier in Tamil Nadu, "Films like Nadodigal, Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu etc are super hits as they will make nearly three times the money invested on them".
What came as a surprise was the less than expected popularity of superstar big budget films like Villu, Sarvvam, Naan Kadavul, Thoranai and a few others in the Rs 15-20 crores range. The only exception to this was the year's biggest blockbuster so far, Suriya's Ayan, which was made and marketed with a budget of Rs 23 crore and is doing business worth Rs 40 to 45 crore from domestic theatres, overseas, Telugu dubbing, audio and DVD sales and Television rights Small budget films also nudged to the limelight many new entrants like Jeeva, Nakul, Vishnu. Add to that writer, director, actor and producer Sasikumar who is the new rage with Tamil cinema buffs these days.
Ramanarayanan, the President of the powerful Tamil Film Producers Council offers, "I'm very happy with the current trend in Tamil film industry. Small and entertaining films made on a tight budget are turning out to be the new formulae for box office hits these days. Personally, I feel that star movies are highly overpriced and we can make at least two small films with the salary the stars are demanding." Add to that a chief minister with a connoisseur's interest in cinema.
M Karunanidhi is an excellent script writer who contributed immensely to the industry. Also, Tamil Nadu is the only state that does not have entertainment tax for Tamil films.
Adds Swaroop Reddy of Sathyam Cinemas in Chennai, the highest collecting multiplex in south India, "I would say that audiences are on the look out for fresh and innovative ideas and not necessarily stars. I agree that star films take an extraordinary opening but they will not sustain, if the content is bad."
The success of a film no longer depends entirely on bombarding the audience with the tried and tested, while exploiting their ideas of fantasy and escape. Something refreshing, a good presentation reinforced by effective marketing techniques clicks at the box-office. Anushka's Telugu blockbuster Arundhati which was bought at a record price to be dubbed into Tamil and released in nearly 150 screens across the state did good business primarily because of its graphics and special effects, which was not run of the mill.
Noted director Mysskin points out, "Today I can bravely make a film the way I want to as a star alone cannot make a film a hit. It is the newness in script and presentation that matters to most of our audiences." Sasikumar who many consider the man who made the change says, "In a way the new trend of content driven films with attractive packaging and essential commercial ingredients show that Tamil cinema has evolved. Our audiences have also matured as they have become more open to newer ideas and are not willing to accept a film just for the sake of a hero."
All of this has resulted in a small film boom of sorts. But there are enough Tamil NRIs and Mumbai based corporates who are pumping in the moolah, and finance is the least of the problems. In the first eight months of the year nearly 90 straight Tamil films mostly in the small budget genre were released, while another 50 to 60 are getting ready for release later this year. By the end of the year, trade pundits predict a record output from the Tamil industry that may just flirt with the 150 releases mark! The new wave Tamil cinema is all about small being the new big!
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