This year has been significant for Kollywood filmmakers in more ways than one. Apart from successfully experimenting with some never-tried-before genres, they also laid emphasis on making multi-lingual films.
A bunch of films were made in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi and released simultaneously. Producers redefined the boundaries and realised that markets are not all about Chennai and tier-two and three-tier cities in the State.
The trend is only expected to gather momentum further as four movies, to be released one after another in quick succession, will draw the attention of Tamil, Telugu and Hindi film lovers alike.
The much-talked-about among them is Mani Ratnam's Raavanan ( Raavan in Hindi) that will be dubbed into Telugu. The film, which will see a simultaneous release in Bollywood, Kollywood and Tollywood, is expected to be a big draw, given the mythological storyline it is based on.
Following Raavanan will be Ram Gopal Varma's Rakthacharithra , a movie primarily made in Hindi, with Suriya and Vivek Oberoi as lead actors. The film, to be dubbed in Tamil and Telugu, is being promoted across the three States. A.R. Murugadoss, who made Ghajini a box-office hit in both Tamil and Hindi, is coming up with a tri-lingual film ‘Ezhaam Arivu' with Suriya in the lead.
Last month, the promotional initiatives of Vivek Oberoi's action-thriller Prince created buzz. Media interactions with the actor were organised in several places of the State, including Tiruchi and Madurai. Though the film bombed at the box-office, it took Bollywood actors to the screens of smaller cities.
G. Dhananjayan, film chronicler and Chief Executive Officer, Moser Baer Entertainment, says success of such across-the-state releases depends entirely on the cast and storyline.
“ Raavan is an economically smart project. Mani Ratnam has chosen appropriate cast for Tamil and Hindi versions and shot it simultaneously to shrink the budget,” he explains. While projects such as Raavan might work, Prince , he said, was “failed concept.” With Vivek Oberoi being entirely new to the Tamil audience, introducing him through an action-thriller did not help, despite the wide-spread publicity drive.
“ Rakthacharithra will succeed if it appeals to the sentiments to Tamil audience. Suriya is a key marketing factor for the film,” he said.
While the Tamil film industry is strengthening its ties with Bollywood, sources say that the connection with Telugu film industry has been there since the early years of cinema. The first talkie in the state ‘Kalidas,' was a Tamil-Telugu film and since then, many films were remade into both languages. “The industries are integrated with common producers and actors,” Mr. Dhananjayan said.
‘Editor' Mohan, a producer popular for his Tamil-Telugu remakes and dubbed releases, says simultaneous releases in more than one language have become a regular affair as they are economically viable.
“Remaking a film after the release will be a gamble. If the film fails to do well in one language, its value goes down,” he explains.
Story and the popularity of the actors are key aspects for success of remade films, says Mohan, who was the first to dub a Malayalam film into Tamil.
As a Tamil and Telugu distributor puts it, “Tamil films have been the source of inspiration for many Bollywood movies. Even the recent films such as Housefull and Kambakth Ishq were loosely based on Tamil subjects.
Creativity is high mainly in Tamil cinema. So it is not surprising to see Tamil filmmakers rolling out their films in Hindi markets and succeeding in their attempts.”
