Controversy, Kollywood’s trusted formula for hits

That actor Vijay’s ‘

Mersal

’ became a bigger hit only due to the BJP-generated GST

controversy

is a fact. But, it is not the first Tamil film and may not be the last to run into trouble for its content and eventually gain out of a controversy.

Kamal Haasan’s troubles with his 2013 film ‘Viswaroopam’ and its delayed release in Tamil Nadu due to opposition from certain Muslim groups are still firmly etched in our memory. The actor had earlier faced trouble with his film ‘Chandiar’ due to opposition from casteist groups and political parties. He had to rename it as ‘Virumaandi’ (2004) to ensure its successful release. Vijay’s earlier releases including ‘Thuppakki’ (2012), ‘Thalaiva’ (2013) and ‘Kaththi’ (2014) too ran into trouble on various accounts. Though Thuppakki and Katthi turned out to be hits due to the increased mileage, Thalaiva did not do that well at the box office.

"Controversies certainly help

films

in becoming bigger. Neither Mersal nor Viswaroopam would have become such huge hits, had it not been for the controversies," says Tiruppur K Subramanian, a leading distributor and industry spokesman. In the case of Viswaroopam, as the controversy prolonged and Muslim groups refused to allow the film to release in Tamil Nadu, Kamal Haasan, also the film’s producer, was forced to release it in other states and overseas. The delay in release of the film in Tamil Nadu created a frenzy among his fans, who travelled to neighbouring states like Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh to watch it in the first week itself.

"Such a phenomenon is nothing new and the industry has witnessed such incidents in the past too. Even Sivaji Ganesan’s first film, ‘Parasakthi’ turned out to be a big hit, thanks to opposition generated over the protagonist’s take on Hindu religious beliefs in the film, which in turn brought Dravidian forces to support it. M R Radha’s ‘Ratthakanneer’ too gained likewise," Subramanian adds.

Some controversies are stage managed as was seen in the promotion of ‘Savithri’ (1980), a small budget film through which Malayalam film director, Bharathan made his foray into Tamil films. Savithri’s story revolved round the developments in an orthodox Tamil brahmin family. "With neither big stars, nor decent theatres, the producer was facing a complete wash out of his investments. That’s when he got about 15 cine-extras to dress up like brahmins. These actors then staged a protest against the film in front of Midland theatre in Chennai. When a Tamil daily published a news report on the protest along with a photograph the next day, the Dravidar Kazhagam jumped into the fray in support of the film. The enhanced interest helped the producer to recover his money," recalls a veteran distributor of Tamil cinema.

"Producers always try and create a buzz around a film. It helps in increasing eyeballs and curiosity among audience. Earlier audience curiosity was whipped using gossips about differences between the lead pair or troubles within the crew. Now, it is politics," says Srinivasan Narayanan, a former NFDC official.

Narayanan says the 2016 Bollywood film ‘Udta Punjab’ could never have become such a big hit, had the Censor Board cleared it without any trouble. The refusal of the censor certificate and the resultant war of attrition made it big. "It was an ordinary film, but because of denial of censor certificate and the resultant controversy it became a hit," he adds.

Narayanan feels controversy, in fact, is a good strategy to adopt. "The producer of ‘Mersal’ may have had to spend several crores to get such big publicity. Salman Rushdie’s book ‘The Satanic Verses’ was read by more people only after it was banned. Such issues create curiosity and these are effectively used by the film industry and publishing houses. These are no longer controversies, they are campaigns for publicity," he says.

The ‘Mersal’ campaign has already emboldened at least one, if not more. Sinish Sreedharan, the director of upcoming Tamil film ‘Balloon’ has taken to Twitter to tease H Raja, a BJP leader from Tamil Nadu. "I have made a film called Balloon. Have no money to promote it. Can you please do something," was his Twitter message in Tamil to the politician. Surely, the industry now seems to know, where to strike to make a hit.