Does Sandalwood need a retake?

Payment defaults, remakes, falling revenues, talent imports ... the Kannada industry has been in the news for all the wrong reasons recently. BT does a reality check
NO MONEY HONEY
Payment defaults are one of the biggest problems in the industry, of late. Over the past month, BT has received many complaints from artistes who haven���t received their dues.Newbies Biaenca Desai, Aindrita Ray, Nagkiran and Archana Gupta are still awaiting payment from their earlier films. ���When we ask the producers, they tell us they won���t run away with our money. We can���t even approach the Film Chamber because as newcomers, we don���t have any clout,��� says Nagkiran. Biaenca adds, ���What���s wrong in asking for my dues? I���m yet to receive payment from two of my previous films. Those producers don���t even answer my calls now.���
Director Chaitanya Karehalli says it���s the recession that���s forcing producers to default. ���Earlier, when the real estate business was booming, most producers would pay the full amount in time. Now, due to the economic slump, they lack funds and aren���t in a position to stick to their commitments,��� he says. Corporate backing, which had come into Sandalwood a while ago, has also taken a beating, ���so many deals have been called off,��� he adds.
SAME, SAME
Most films made these days are local versions of a Tamil or Telugu hit ��� Ram (Ready), Veera Madakari (Vikramarkudu), Punda (Polladhavan). ���It���s wrong to think that films that have been hits elsewhere will also score with the Kannada audience,��� says producer K Manju. ���Bayige banda amount kelo badlu, in these tough times, our heroes should instill confidence in their producers by making original films run,��� says Manju. He also finds the growing trend of remakes, ���nauseating.���
���Ever since it was recently declared that even remakes will be made 100 per cent tax-free, everyone���s jumped onto the remake bandwagon,��� says director Kavitha Lankesh. While we may not like the trend, we can���t discourage people from making them, she says. ���Creativity is at an all-time low because of these readymade scripts. However, there are no original scripts being written; so the only good thing about this abundance of remakes is that it���s providing people jobs,��� she explains.
GHAR KI MURGI DAL BARABAR?
The trend of using outside talent has been on the increase. Most heroines in Kannada films are either from Kollywood, Tollywood or Bollywood. ���So, even though local girls are talented, we���re often ignored by directors,��� says starlet Madhuri. According to her, producers use outside heroines because they add ���glamour��� to their films. ���But they take ages to get a shot right. Local girls complete the same in two takes. When we���re more professional and as glam, why aren���t we given a chance?��� she asks.
Actress Neettoo fails to understand why producers still hire outside talent when they haven���t contributed to the commercial success of our films. ���Out of the 50 films they do, a handful succeed. They���re just pretty faces and very few have actually been able to make a mark in Sandalwood,��� she points out.
BUY ONE, GET ONE FREE
Film-maker Shailendra Babu says Kannada films need to be marketed more effectively. ���I���m alarmed by the growing popularity of non-regional films, especially in places like Bellary, Hospet and Davangere,��� he observes. This is due to increased ticket prices and piracy, he says. ���Even theatre rentals on KG Road are as high as Rs 3.6-Rs 4 lakh a week. How can a producer recover his money when theatres are virtually empty?��� he asks.
���Family audiences have stopped going to theatres because it���s an expensive affair, more so if you���re going to a multiplex,��� says Kavitha. She agrees that reduced ticket prices and incentives like buy-one-get-one-free ticket, which some theatres are offering, will help attract audiences.
���And in a bid to make money, people have forgotten to cater to the aam aadmi. They make our films run; we need to bring them back,��� sums up Babu.