Showers from the North-East monsoon during the Deepavali season have played havoc with box-office collections in Tamil Nadu. Torrential rains have left many theatres inundated. Generator rooms were flooded and there was no power. As a result, many shows had to be cancelled. The heavy rains also meant that the audience stayed away from theatres, leading a further cancellation of night shows. The only film which has survived this catastrophe is Vedalam, which had an extraordinary first week. According to theatre owners, footfalls in screens across Tamil Nadu for November are likely to be the lowest in recent years. A theatre owner in the suburbs of Chennai says, “Theatres, especially single screens, were not equipped to tackle natural calamities like rains and floods. The roads surrounding my theatre were flooded, making it difficult for people to enter. Even in 2005, we had floods during Deepavali, but the situation was not as severe. Only the theatres that weren’t flooded had family audiences coming in, as schools were also closed for nearly two weeks. Today, Google Maps shows you which theatre to go to in the rains.”
Kollywood has to rethink the release schedule for films that coincide with the onset of the monsoons in Chennai and adjoining areas such as Chengalpet and Kanchipuram. These districts have a majority of multiplexes and also happen to be the Tamil box-office catchment area. Many single screens in these districts are being renovated and made into multiplexes with two or three screens. In the next two years, 50 to 60 new screens will be opened in these multiplexes. Despite prevailing conditions, and with more rains being forecasted, the rush to release new films continues. As of November 27, 194 Tamil films have released. Trade sources are indicating that 15 to 20 films are ready for release in December, which means that theatres are never going to run short of content. The deluge of new releases is unaffected, despite bad market conditions, with no takers for satellite rights. Theatre programmers of multiplexes in Tamil Nadu have started adopting smart tactics; they play multiple films, with a different schedule for weekends and weekdays. The film which gets high footfalls during the weekend will get more screenings during the week.
Mahesh Govindaraaj of Auraa Cinemas, who is the distributor of Radhamohan’s Uppu Karuvadu, says, “I’m lucky that I got a few screens and my content is being appreciated. I know it would have done even better if there was not so much competition. I have six more films lined up for release in the next three months.”
Going by the trends, it looks like even good content needs strong promotions and a release pipeline to reach the audiences. There is an increasing emphasis among producers on a strong distribution network and a hold over exhibitors. Rains and floods have brought in more chaos. There are even rumours that the traditional Christmas holiday season will be cut short, as many educational institutions will be working to make up for the rain holidays.
