Presenting Dhollywood’s 2018 report card

2018 was surely an eventful year for D-Town. Be it receiving the National Award for the best Gujarati film, the unprecedented success of (BO collection of more than Rs 25 crores), the misery of single screen theaters, big banners of national repute producing and backing Gujarati films like , and or films tackling relevant and contemporary issues like , and getting appreciated by critics, the Gujarati film industry was in the news throughout the year.This year, the audiences also gave a thumbs up to remakes like , , and . And expectedly, comedies like and were clear winners. On the flip side, the sorry state of affairs for single screens affected the rural movie industry adversely. Also, Gujarati films continued to have issues with screen availability at multiplexes, leading to a lot of films pushing back their release dates. The year also saw some action flicks like , and , but they received a lukewarm response at the BO. Here’s a dekko at D-Town’s 2018 report card:
Comedies continued to rule
Fun-loving Gujaratis love their comedies, and filmmakers fulfilled their wish with films like Shu Thayu?, Gujjubhai Most Wanted, Vandha Villas, Fera Feri Hera Feri, Tari Maate Once More, Pagalpanti, Midnights With Menka, Family Circus and many more. Siddharth Randeria says, “I really enjoy the response to my comedy films in Gujarat. The Gujjubhai plays have been phenomenal, and it is wonderful that the movies fared well too. We also look forward to a third film as soon as we have an interesting storyline.” Even Malhar Thakar says, “It is awesome to see such love from audiences for comedies. It feels good to provide some moments of laughter to the audience.”
A year of ‘inspired’ film-making
This year also saw remakes of other regional films, with movies like Shu Thayu?,Natsamrat, Sharato Lagu and Ventilator. And these stories found many takers. Umang Vyas, director of Ventilator,shares, “A good story can be told from any corner of the world. If a story is worthy of being shared, language is never a barrier. For this movie, we retained the essence of the Marathi movie but added some Gujarati flavour. It was a story that every Gujarati could relate to.” Neeraj Joshi, director of Sharato Lagu says, “We kept the core characters and idea of Marathi movie Chi va Chi Sau Ka intact, but it required a lot of Gujarati-fication to make a convincing Gujarati film.”
Contemporary movies were appreciated
Films like Reva, Oxygen and Dhh were prime examples of this emerging trend and these serious genre films garnered good response. Even films like Chitkar, Tame Keva, Maa, Dhaad and Backbencher tried to move away from the tried and tested formula, and attempted subjects that aren’t popular choices. Rahul Bhole, co-director of Reva says, “Today, the audience wants to watch a good film. We had our reservations when we set out to make Reva, but the kind of response we got was very encouraging.” Although it is a well-known fact that Gujarati audiences love the comedy genre, filmmakers and producers are willing to take risks and explore new horizons. Talking about it, Vipul Mehta says, “It is essential to offer something different from the regular potboilers and comedies to our audiences. Stories with good treatment impress the audience.”
Rural film industry had a tough time
With the business of single screen theatres taking a hit, rural Gujarati films have also taken a beating in the last six months. “2018 has been one of the worst years for rural films,” says Vandan Shah. He adds, “Nobody is looking to make rural films, even Vikram Thakor starrers are not working.” And the options seem to be limited for these filmmakers. Says Sanjay Shah, “Our audience doesn’t go to multiplexes. In fact, there are no multiplexes in towns where our films do well. And since single screens are shutting down, things look very difficult.” Some even blame the state government for not helping the rural films enough. Says filmmaker Utpal Modi, “After GST, we don’t get the entertainment tax exemption, and there is no solid subsidy system in place. The avenues where we can release our films are shrinking. So, it is increasingly becoming difficult to make films.”
Inadequate number of screens
With Bollywood movies getting the major share in the number of screens, D-Town faced a huge issue in releasing their films. It was tough to get prime time shows too, and many films had to postpone their release dates. Producer Harsh Vasnani shares, “I strongly feel Bollywood releases are never a threat to a good Gujarati movie. Ideally, local movie makers should keep sufficient gap between the releases of Gujarati movies, so that every movie gets a fair chance at the BO and doesn’t affect the business of other Gujarati films adversely.” Agrees filmmaker Kirtan Patel, “There are very few Gujarati movie releases and hence, we should respect each other’s work and give it the right chance to perform properly without clashes.”
So while comedies remained the popular flavour in Dhollywood, good films and sensitive subjects also found takers. With such encouraging BO trends, Gujarati filmmakers can feel assured that they can experiment at will in 2019!