A Loose to Continuation of "Has Kollywood dug its own grave" : Tamil Nadu Footfalls Part 3 :-

I hope by now you would have understood why lots of actors who entered politics weren't successful like M.G. Ramachandran & J.Jayalalitha. Gross collections look very big today, but those were the days more people watched films in theaters. Craze for cinema was at its peak. So M.G.R. & J.Jayalalitha had more influence in politics, majority of those who used to watch their films in theaters blindly voted for them.

But today, Superstar Rajinikanth can influence hardly 8%-10% of Tamil Nadu population to vote for him. Our generation measures craze with likes, shares, retweets and Youtube views. If the previous generation also had access to Internet as much as we did, servers would be down often courtesy of Internet Traffic. They didn't, so their records aren't available to compare with the social media records of our present generation actors.

But with Jayalalitha dead, Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan now have a shot in politics as competition is very weak.

That's not the only point, I didn't type 2 long pages filled with information I've been collecting since last year to discuss only politics. Its to show how the phrase "Our favorite hero has crores of fans in Tamil Nadu" doesn't make sense anymore. Its over, Kollywood has dug its own grave and the destruction is happening faster than I thought it would.

To be practical, there is absolutely no way to save Kollywood. To save itself from destruction, unity is key and Kollywood lacks that. But If Tamil Films Producers Council President Vishal is really brave like he pretends to be in front of press reporters, he can arrange meeting(s) with the big names of Kollywood and sort this out, If he really wants his industry to be alive and healthy, the change has to start with himself.


DAMAGE CONTROL :- 

Today, a film's success depends a lot on many external factors apart from content. First issue that needs to be attended is budget control. The major issue with Kollywood is not less collections but its investment being higher than the average revenue a film can generate. This has to start from Biggies, where the risk of facing losses are more than the profits that would come after the film's success.

Rajinikanth :-

Apt pay for his market : 35 crores

Films made strictly for fans :-
First Copy Budget - 60 crores
Apt Rights Pricing in Tamil Nadu - 25 crores MG

Films with universal appeal :-
First Copy Budget - 105 crores
Apt Rights pricing in Tamil Nadu - 35 crores MG

Vijay :- 

Apt pay for his market - 25 crores

Films made strictly for fans :-
First Copy Budget - 45 crores
Apt Rights pricing in Tamil Nadu - 30 crores MG

Films with universal appeal :-
First Copy Budget - 75 crores
Apt Rights pricing in Tamil Nadu - 40 crores MG


Ajith :- 

Apt pay for his market - 15 crores

Films made strictly for fans :-
First Copy Budget - 40 crores
Apt Rights pricing in Tamil Nadu - 30 crores MG

Films with universal appeal :-
First Copy Budget - 60 crores
Apt Rights pricing in Tamil - 40 crores MG


Suriya :- 

Apt pay for his market - 13 crores

Commercial film :-
First Copy Budget - 35 crores
Apt Rights pricing in Tamil Nadu - 20 crores MG

Film with universal appeal :-
First Copy Budget - 55 crores
Apt Rights pricing in Tamil Nadu - 25 crores MG


Vikram :- 

Apt pay for his market - 10 crores

Commercial film :-
First Copy Budget - 20 crores
Apt Rights pricing in Tamil Nadu - 14 crores MG

Film with universal appeal :-
First Copy Budget - 40 crores
Apt Rights pricing in Tamil Nadu - 20 crores MG


Sivakarthikeyan :- 
Apt pay for his market - 10 crores

Commercial film :-
First Copy Budget - 20 crores
Apt Rights pricing in Tamil Nadu - 20 crores MG

Film with universal appeal :-
First Copy Budget - 35 crores
Apt Rights pricing in Tamil Nadu - 25 crores MG


Dhanush :-

Apt pay for his market - 8 crores

Commercial film :-
First Copy Budget - 18 crores
Apt Rights pricing in Tamil Nadu - 12 crores MG

Film with universal appeal :-
First Copy Budget - 30 crores
Apt Rights pricing in Tamil Nadu - 20 crores MG


Karthi :- 
Apt pay for his market - 6 crores

Commercial film :-
First Copy Budget - 12 crores
Apt Rights pricing in Tamil Nadu - 12 crores MG

Film with universal appeal :-
First Copy Budget - 25 crores
Apt Rights pricing in Tamil Nadu - 17 crores MG


Vijay Sethupathi :- 

Commercial film :-
Apt pay - 2.5 crores
First Copy Budget - 7 crores
Apt Rights pricing in Tamil Nadu - 10 crores MG

Film with universal appeal :-
Apt Pay - 5 crores
First Copy Budget - 15 crores
Apt Rights pricing in Tamil Nadu - 12 crores MG

With MG basis deals, Producers will get 50:50 share from distributor after rights price is recovered


FILMING :-  
If location scouting, actors call sheet allotment, budgeting is planned aptly in pre-production, then shooting of a commercial film starring a tier 1 actor say like Bairavaa, Vedalam or Thaanaa Serndha Koottam can be wrapped in 3 months flat.

Again 3 months is for shooting only, not for the entire film. Without completing
pre-production its better to avoid making an official public announcement about the project.

I often recall my good old days where I aspired to make it big in the film industry, though I eventually quit it, fate is not always fair with us. A couple of years after quitting, I interacted with a cool dude in Express Avenue, Chennai who claimed his ambition was to become a film director. His Father was not rich but had contacts with film producers, through him this guy had got an appointment with a film producer in Vadapalani. I casually asked him did he have a bound script and proper budgeting. He said he just needs 20 crores for his debut film which he thought was low budget. I momentarily lost my cool and almost spat out some water, I just ran away from there to avoid making public nuisance.
With proper pre-production & skilled technicians, its possible to make a quality low budget film within   ₹ 1.5 crores. If the debut director is matured enough, then filming can be wrapped within 6 weeks. Releasing costs another 75 Lakhs to 1 crore. Keep in mind that almost 140 films every year struggle to recover 10% of their total expenses. 1.5 crores is good money If a debut director knows how to spend it wisely like choosing montage over foreign locations for songs.


RELEASE STREAMLINING :- 

Only 6 big budget (Budgets over 40 crores) films should be released per year and there should be at least 2 months gap.

Only 12 medium budget (Budget over 15 crores) films should be released per year. Remaining weekends should be left vacant for low budget films to get sizable release in Tamil Nadu.


MAKING BOX OFFICE FIGURES PUBLIC :- 
TFPC should open its own box office website. This is the most difficult process of them of all. If all theaters in Tamil Nadu arrange for computerized ticketing system and co-operate with distributors, then actual gross collections can be made available for public.

Reason producers & distributors demand MG is because sub distributors and theaters under them present fake numbers, this happens often when a film collects way more than expected. With computerized system, they'll get caught If they try to cheat. If an official box office website can be opened within a year or two. Producers can also find it easier to convince Tier 1 & 2 actors to reduce their salaries and opt for profit sharing instead.

In Bollywood, Aamir Khan takes a minimal advance before release and gets share in profits. Imagine how much he would have earned in Dangal ?. If Kollywood stars earn more money If a film does well and loses money If a film fails, they'll try to do more quality films. 


Tirunelveli Kanyakumari (TK) & Salem's monopolization :- 
These two areas were affected the most after double taxation (GST+Local Body Entertainment Tax) came into effect in Tamil Nadu. Vijay is strong in TK while Ajith has similar grip over Salem, so their films open well and make good money irrespective of ticket pricing. Not everyone are blessed like an Vijay or Ajith.

Producers live in some Utopian World where all moviegoers in Tamil Nadu can afford to pay for tickets and F & B (Food and Beverages) like elite families who visit Multiplexes. This huge misunderstanding in their side is the reason why they were least bothered about ticket price hike. This has largely affected South Tamil Nadu audience who've recently rejected even films that were specifically made with them in mind like Kodiveeran.

Standard opening Sasikumar commands in TK is 20 Lakhs while Kodiveeran managed to gross only 8 Lakhs. This means both TK & Salem have been monopolized, unless tax and ticket price is taken care of, only Ajith & Vijay films will get rush in theaters. Rajinikanth's Kabali faced maximum loss in TK & Salem only. If LBET existed back then, the losses would have been even higher.

Recent victims like Karthi's Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru, SK's Velaikkaran, Suriya's TSK, Vikram's Sketch and many small/medium budget films have faced huge loss despite positive word of mouth.