Quite often, film fans, especially in cosmopolitan cities like Bengaluru, quiz the Sandalwood movie buff on why their films aren’t marketed and released like the other South Indian film industries. For those die-hard Kannads fans, the year 2018 is going to be remembered as one that has seen Kannada films pave their way through different corners of India and also across the globe. Some of the notable films that have made this possible include Tagaru, Raambo 2, Sarkari Hi. Pra. Shaale Kasaragodu, Koduge: Ramanna Rai and also the buzz surrounding the recently-released The Villain and the upcoming multilingual film KGF.
Reaching different corners of India
Distributor Yeshas Nag, Founder of Radical Frames, which has pioneered the release of critically-acclaimed films outside Karnataka, says he has seen some interesting developments, especially while releasing Rishab Shetty’s Sarkari Shaale… “More than 3,000 students have watched the film at Kasargod, covering all government and private schools at Kasargod and nearby towns and villages. The secretary of Vizag Kannada Sangha was surprised to see the strength of Kannada speaking people during the weekend when he went to watch the film. The Kannada Sangha members of Chandigarh made it possible to play the Kannada naadageethe before the screening. This has gone viral on social media,” says Yeshas.
Yeshas adds, “In Mumbai, Sarkari Shaale… had the highest tickets sales compared to any Kannada movie that released there earlier, and saw the most occupancy throughout the week for four continuous weeks.” He also adds that there are many markets that were either visited after years or explored for the first time, which includes Andamans. “A Kannada movie was released after 12 years in Thiruvananthapuram (two centres) and Vizag (one centre). If anyone had noticed the streets of Chennai, the posters were spread out in 12 areas, which is happening for the first time for a Kannada movie. Also, more than 10 new centres have now opened for Kannada movies. We are expecting to have the biggest releases for upcoming films in the coming days,” Yeshas predicts, as he cites examples of the big star films that are lined up.