Tulu film industry looks to the Middle East

Mangaluru: The fledgling Tulu film industry, popularly known as ‘Coastalwood’, is now looking at the overseas market to make big, and quick, bucks.
With the non-availability of screens (theatres) in the Mangaluru-Udupi-Kasargod region becoming a major constraint, Tulu filmmakers are trying to tap into the movie market of the Middle East which has a sizeable Tulu-speaking and expatriate population from this part of the state.Locally, Coastalwood gets only 13 screening centres in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kasaragod districts.
“This expansion of market has become inevitable for us to recover the cost,” says actor-producer Devadas Kapikad. “The scope for returns in the local market, centres in Bengaluru included, is not enough for Coastalwood.” This, he says, has prompted some producers to explore the outstation markets. “Even there, we do not get run-through screenings as at home and these are limited to sponsored shows during the Middle East weekend of Thursday and Friday,” he says.
Actor-producer Vijaykumar Kodialbail, whose ’Oriyardori Asal’ shook up the industry with its runaway box office success, says he was luckly to earn Rs 2 lakh from arranging the screenings in Muscat, Qatar, Dubai and Bahrain. The bigger banners with their deeper pockets manage to break even with such screenings. Even in Maharashtra, especially Mumbai, Tulu films get the early morning slot for limited screenings at multiplexes, he says.
There are additional costs, including those of sub-titles in the local Arabic language for screenings in the Middle East, points out Kapikad, who assists father Devadas in the family’s Bolli Movies banner ventures. “We announce these shows in advance and it is our fans who come to our aid,” he says. Incidentally, the latest release of Bolli Movies ’Are Marler’ had a decent run in the Middle East market, even during weekdays, he adds.
Industry watcher and former member of Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy Jagannath Shetty Bala says Coastalwood’s fortunes could turn around if the number of screening centers increase. “I know producers who are willing to invest upwards of Rs 1 crore against a regular average budget of Rs 50-60 lakh for Tulu films if they are assured of centers and if the exhibitors give them the leeway by not yanking their films, bowing to pressure from bigger exhibitors,” he adds.
Number of Tulu films released in 2017 - 11
Last Film Released - Ambar Caterers - November
Collections - Handful break even at the box office
All Tulu films got screens, but a dismal year for Coastalwood meant only Are Marler clicked
QUOTE
Most producers voluntarily take up screening of Tulu films in the Middle East. It is a time consuming and procedure driven process. Are Marler was lucky in that Pradeep and Vinay, distributors who screen Kannada films in Middle East took up my film for distribution at Metro, a leading theatre that normally screens only Bollywood and Hollywood flicks. The film ran for two weeks, with four shows on Friday and one show each on rest of the days. - Devadas Kapikad, actor-producer.