The Hindu Business Line : Karnataka's decision on non-Kannada films

The genesis of this issue stems from the poor performance of Kannada films during releases, prompting Kannada Film Producers' Association to seek a deferment of release of non-Kannada films.

Mumbai , Sept. 1

THE decision of the Karnataka Government to defer the release of non-Kannada films for seven weeks will not only hurt the prospects of the entire Indian film industry but would also result in long-term repercussions.

According to industry representatives, such a move could slow down investments in multiplexes and film infrastructure in Karnataka. But the bigger fear is that the move by Karnataka could trigger a similar trend across other States as well. At a time when the industry is fighting piracy a delayed release does not augur well.

The genesis of this issue stems from the poor performance of new Kannada films during releases, prompting Kannada Film Producers' Association to seek a deferment of release of non-Kannada films.

According to film industry representatives in Mumbai, the Kannada film industry has to address an inherent problem - it has to come up with riveting films that will bring audiences back to the theatres. "If a Kannada film fares badly at the box office, it is not because a Hindi or a Tamil film is occupying theatre space," said an industry representative declining to be named.

According to Mr Amit Khanna, President, Producers' Guild of India, the State's move is `unconstitutional' and a narrow approach to a larger problem. The Guild met with the Information and Broadcasting Minister, Mr Jaipal Reddy, to apprise him of the situation.

"Revenue loss on account of this move is to the tune of Rs 1 crore a week," Mr Khanna said. A large number of theatre owners in Karnataka are affected by this move. "Several multiplexes are under construction in Bangalore. PVR's multiplex built at a cost of Rs 2 crore is ready to be inaugurated but is forced to remain shut," Mr Khanna said.

According to Mr Shravan Shroff, Director, Shringar Cinemas, Kannada films already attract a much lower entertainment tax at 10 per cent compared with 40 per cent for other non-Kannada films.

Karnataka is a major market for Hindi as well as Hollywood films; it also has a considerably large market for Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films as well. "Bangalore is a major market for all these films because it is a cosmopolitan city," said Mr Supran Sen, Secretary, Film Federation of India.

According to Mr Sen, producers are beginning to feel the impact of revenue loss. "The impact could be big, especially ahead of Diwali when several films are released," he said. Kannada film industry, according to him, is relatively small in comparison to Hindi and the other South Indian film industry. "Annually about 70-75 Kannada films are released, while other regions and Hindi releases many more. Therefore, a large number of theatres and multiplexes in Karnataka are sitting idle without any films,'' he said.

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