WHY ARE KANNADA FILMS FAILING TO HIT THE BULL’S-EYE?

• The Indian people are most fond of two things in their day-to-day lives. Any guesses as to what the two most important parts of our existence that go a long way in defining who we are? As you are aware, India as a country is so rich in diversity, culture, tradition, heritage, and legacy that binding such a vast swathe of landscape by one or two commonalities makes for a wonderful experience. The diversity in language, ethnicity, caste, creed, class, food habits, and attire is well documented with each region’s rich heritage willfully embraced by others. The seamless integration of different cultures and their amalgamation into what is construed as Indian is a fascinating aspect. Of course, we are proud of what’s out there for us.

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• Yes, two of the most zealously followed and embraced factors for Indians are films and cricket. While the Hindi film industry used to rule the roost till a decade or so back, the emergence of regional cinema as a force to reckon with pan-India has made other industries equally compelling to watch out for. Yes, long before the other regional cinemas started gaining further ground, the content emerging from the different corners of the country was well-recognized. The southern film industry represented by Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam, was especially in the forefront, dishing out quality content and thereby gaining tremendous recognition. Why, even some of the Hindi cinema superstars were resurrected courtesy of southern film producers.

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• Thespian superstars from the southern film industry, like Dr. Rajkumar, NT Ramarao, MG Ramachandran, Shivaji Ganesan, Nageswara Rao, Nazeer, Mammotty, and Mohanlal, were instrumental in establishing the southern supremacy across the length and breadth of India through stellar performances for decades. Following closely on these footsteps were other equally gifted actors who carried forward the legacy to even greater heights, winning accolades along the way. Within the south industry, Tamil and Telugu are considered as having a step or two ahead simply because of the scale, reach, canvas, and the following. The moot point to ponder here is where the Kannada film industry stands in the pecking order despite boasting such a great legacy.

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Indisputably, an emerging star like Yash has carved out a niche for himself pan-India via the successful KGF franchise films. However, the Kannada industry per se has struggled to crack the box office conundrum of late despite boasting some of the most saleable stars like Shivrajkumar, Upendra, Sudeep, Darshan, Ganesh, and others to ensure the cash registers ring. Sadly, these stars act in not more than one or two films per year, leaving the field open for others to push forward the industry. This is where Kannada films are failing to live up to the expectations save for a sporadic winner – even a sleeper one – along the way. Moreover, most of the films fail to attract patronage with the onslaught of OTT platforms too. How will the Kannada films revive then?