The Tamil film industry missed an Endhiran this year. While revenues touched R800 crore on the back of Rajinikanth?s Endhiran in 2010, Kollywood?s fortunes dipped in 2011 as no production house other than Sun Pictures could opt for a R130-crore venture. The industry also saw correction in revenues from R800 crore to R600 crore logged on an average in recent years by the Tamil film industry. ?Kollywood producers neither have the deep pockets nor the vaulting ambition like Sun Pictures to contemplate such high-ticket projects, and hence we see the correction to pre-2010 levels in gross revenues of the industry,? says Ramanujam of film news blog Tamil entertainment.com.
There were 135 films released in 2011 against 147 films of 2010, indicating a drop in movie production?another notable trend, he adds. It is no secret that the industry is reeling under high salary cost with producers offering mind-boggling salaries even to artistes with only one notable hit under their belt. ?There is a high degree of irrational expectation among producers who believe that a particular artiste who rakes in the moolah with one flick could repeat the success in subsequent ventures, regardless of quality of plot, cast, music and direction,? he says. In search of a fresh plot, many film makers turned to rural Tamil Nadu, but failed to deliver. Ravishankar, Kollywood film analyst, rues the failure of low-budget films this year. ?There are a few that match the Myna and Kalavani of 2010. Vaagai soodava and Engeyum eppothum fit the genre in 2011. Vaagai soodava starring Kalavaani Vimal and fresher Iniya depicts how the literacy campaign among the wards of brick kiln bonded labourers in a remote village of Tamil Nadu helped them to get liberated from the stranglehold of feudal lords,? he says.
?Audience rejection is proving to be effective in dissuading the clutter and flops in the mass market segment. One should wait and watch whether low-budget, ill-conceived flicks touted to focus on the unsung stories of legends of rural folk remain a rage in 2012,? he adds.