On the second day of his film’s release, director Mansore posted a picture on Twitter and captioned: “I am lost for words”. The photo showed a ‘house full’ board outside Veeresh theatre, screening his ‘Act 1978’.
A week later, the Facebook page of Kannada film ‘Arishadvarga,’ shared a post: “It’s time to celebrate because it’s house full again”.
Not so long ago, several single-screen theatres had turned into warehouses. But these pictures suggest a semblance of normalcy has returned.
Theatres were allowed to open in October with 50 per cent occupancy. New releases faced the risk of a dull reception because of safety concerns. And a sea of content is now available on OTT platforms.
But the response to Kannada films like ‘Act 1978’, ‘Arishadvarga’ and ‘Gadiyara’ tell a different story.
“In the first weekend, 21 shows across Karnataka were full. Even on a weekday, people are showing interest,” says Mansore, whose ‘Act 1978’ is a hostage drama.
Films now being released have no ‘A’ listers, and come with their own problems. “In north Karnataka districts, audiences prefer ‘mass’ films. We removed my film after a poor show in the first week,” explains the national-award-winning filmmaker.
‘Small’ and independent films receive big boost when superstars show support. Actors like Duniya Vijay, Sudeep, Darshan, Rishi, Satheesh Ninasam, and many well-known directors have heaped praise on ‘Act 1978’ and ‘Arishadvarga’.
The Kannada industry has united in the face of a grim situation. A video produced by KRG Connects, ‘Come Let’s Embrace Cinema Again’, starring big names, went viral. “What an evocative video to celebrate the reopening of cinema theatres by the Kannada industry,” tweeted Malayalam actor Prithviraj Sukumaran.
In the pre-Covid era, Bengaluru would see a rush of releases every week. “That’s exactly why Mansore and I decided to bring our films out,” says Arvind Kamath, director of ‘Arishadvarga’.
“Bengaluru is a melting point with audiences for films in all languages. So if we had to release our films when 100 per cent occupancy was allowed, we would have faced stiff competition,” he explains.
‘Arishadvarga’ is a neo-noir thriller with an ‘A’ certificate. It was first released at major film festivals, and its director was afraid it might be dismissed by the regular filmgoer as an ‘artsy’ film.
“It’s a film in an urban milieu but it talks about domestic, social, and psychological issues and it has kind of struck a chord with people. We spoke to a family that had individuals from all generations. They watched ‘Arishadvarga’ and said it’s a very relevant film. Another observation is that women have liked the film a lot. The common feedback is that just because it’s ‘A’ rated, one must not look at it with jaded prejudices,” he says.
K V Chandrashekhar, president, Kannada Film Exhibitors Association, lauded the efforts to make theatres safe for audiences.
“Even 50 per cent occupancy in a big theatre is 400-500 seats. And if they are getting full, it speaks volumes of the protocol followed and the people’s confidence in them,” he says.
For cinephiles, eight months without the theatre experience is a long time. “What pulled me to the theatre was the magic of the big screen. I totally missed it in the last eight months,” says Vijay Kalyana Raman, Media Studies student at Christ.
However, many are still following a wait-and-watch approach. “For a person who would watch multiple movies a month in theatres, it’s difficult to sit at home with two good movies running. But obviously, safety comes first,” says Prajwal Gangadhar, a DevOps engineer at Cognizant.
With Christmas and Sankranti approaching, it remains to be seen if the many big-scale films with popular stars will release at the theatres following the encouraging response by the audience.