Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) sets up special committee to streamline theatrical releases

The Kannada Film Industry is currently dealing with the problem of plenty. While the year so far has seen a multitude of films succeed at the national level, a vast majority of the theatrical releases have suffered mercilessly on the side. The main reason, cite experts, behind this is the haphazard, unplanned manner with which the weekly releases take place as the need to streamline the process grows larger than ever before.

Reportedly, out of the 110 Kannada films released in theatres to date, only 5 have managed to reap profits. It wouldn’t be a tough guess that each of these 5 ventures featured top-billed stars who easily warrant theatrical runs. With all the big producers exercising their clout and blocking theatrical spaces well ahead of time, smaller-scale films are being edged out without a trace with most cinema halls across Karnataka running empty week after week.

In this vein, the president of Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, Ba. Ma. Harish, has formed a committee to oversee the disarrangement in the theatrical releases. Speaking to The Hindu recently, Ba. Ma. Harish revealed that the new committee will streamline the process and ensure that each film, regardless of its size and stature, will benefit from it. While the committee, he adds, doesn’t plan on imposing the idea on producers, it will certainly aid a smoother operation in the coming days.

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The same ‘bottleneck’ issue has also worried filmmakers from other film industries but it would seem that with a solid system in place, which ensures that release dates are announced well in advance. The OTT media's role has also helped the Telugu, Malayalam, and Hindi film industries in particular with the clear segregation between digital and theatrical markets assisting producers to stay ahead of the curve.

Despite the advent of digital platforms over the past year or two, Kannada cinema is yet to properly leverage the medium to its full capacity which has further resulted in further clutter. According to the member of the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce (SIFCC), Thomas D’Souza (who spoke to a media outlet recently), the majority of the Kannada film stars and producers prefer to see their films on the big screen and are yet to consider digital as a worthy option.

It would now be interesting to see whether, or not, the new committee formed by KFCC helps the Kannada Film Industry reach a levelling ground. The remainder of 2022 has a number of big and exciting releases lined up and one would only hope that each film gets its due attention in the cinema halls. More updates to follow soon.