Allu Aravind: Indian cinema is going through tough times

Apart from the smashing success of films like RRR, KGF Chapter 2, Pushpa and The Kashmir Files, there’s no doubt in the fact that Indian cinema is in the middle of a lean phase where it has become a challenge for filmmakers to draw crowds to theatres. No director or producer is confident about what could pull crowds - films of big stars like Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar and Shahid Kapoor have flopped big time and have made many in the industry reevaluate their choices. Even a top producer like Allu Aravind has had a bitter experience with a film as good as Jersey.

In the success meet of Ashoka Vanamlo Arjuna Kalyanam hosted earlier this week, the producer told that Indian cinema is going through challenging times and that crowds have lost the habit of watching films in theatres. “Not many know what we’re in the middle of a crisis. Good films, and also those featuring big stars are not able to register great openings. Things are not as good as they were in the past. It’s in times like these that we need the support of the audiences. I was thrilled to notice that Ashoka Vanamlo Arjuna Kalyanam witnessed an impressive jump over the weekend,” he added.

While speaking of Ashoka Vanamlo Arjuna Kalyanam, Allu Aravind said that it was refreshing to see a clean family entertainer perform well at the box office and lavished praise on the team, including writer Ravi Kiran Kola, director Vidya Sagar Chinta, actors Vishwak Sen, Ritika Nayak, Rukshar Dhillon and producers Sudheer Edara, B Bapineedu. He stated that his production house is also working on a project with Ravi Kiran Kola next. Applauding Vishwak’s ability for comedy, he mentioned that he had fallen in love with Rukshar’s close-ups in the film and credited Ritika for her commendable debut.

Jay Krish has scored the music for the film cinematographed by Pavi K Pavan. The film hit theatres on May 6, alongside Jayamma Panchayathi, Maa Ishtam, Bhala Thandanana and turned out to be a natural choice for moviegoers in its first weekend. It remains to be seen if the film would be able to tolerate the Sarkaru Vaari Paata wave in the second weekend.