Vasu
Reddy from Chicago
vasureddy@aol.com
For more than 10 years I have been blogging with
time off when I really got sick. Much of
my weekly columns revolve around AP, India and the USA. Some politics, some personal stories but I
try not to get promotional. I used to
write movie reviews when the south Indian movie watching was still in its
infancy, and getting a few hundred people to the theater was a big undertaking. There was no email internet and programmed
advertising was not existent. Sticking
posters, flyers and calling with some email was the only way to reach out to
the audiences. We did write reviews
right after the first show, and was never sure if the reviews were very
effective, but clocking into 2017 the movies are promoted in every medium,
reaching to every possible regional language.
They are also shown in 100 of screens and in all markers where the
target audience is. Digital copies are
delivered on time (rather than massive 16 reels) and location doesn’t matter as
digital copies can be delivered in all locations. The movie making is expensive, advertising
and promotions also very expensive, and cost of distribution is only for the
elite and rich. I don’t think I could be
a distributor in this market, but I know the scale of the business 10 years
later is massive. This is true for every
Indian language movies.
To go back to my earlier days in blogging and writing, I thought that the regional films and issues we given little importance in the national media. Irrespective of the importance or success regional news got little press or somehow tied to someone in the north Indian market as a catalyst to the regional success.
vasureddy@aol.com
The spring of 2017 has really been an eye opener for
even the well-versed moviegoer. Baahubali
2 The Conclusion is just into its second week in the theaters. It has amassed over 1,000 crores in about 9
days. The first part Baahubali 1 The
Beginning was a massive hit which made over 650 crores at the box office, but
the conclusive version is massive. A
combination of both movies might tough 2,000 crores by the time the theatrical
run is complete. It could be higher.
No matter what you say about the movie, the audience
acceptance and the box office reports of a regional language movie is unparalleled. For 2,000 Crores, you could create a nice
sized and very sophisticated town in India.To go back to my earlier days in blogging and writing, I thought that the regional films and issues we given little importance in the national media. Irrespective of the importance or success regional news got little press or somehow tied to someone in the north Indian market as a catalyst to the regional success.
Baahubali 1 and 2 had absolutely no contribution
from anyone from Bollywood, except someone purchased both the movies at an excellent
price and made huge profits on both.
Still, the national media will unabashedly attribute the success to the
distributor. Neither the media nor the
guy who bought the movie/s can simply attribute sole success to the movie
makers.
The real makers, director, actors and all people
involved in the massive success of the movie/s have not just investment money
but also 5 years of their life into the success of the enterprise. Perhaps the movies did not need the help of
the national media as the internet does the magic to get out the word on
anything good. The success of the
Baahubali enterprise is not just unparalleled for a Telugu movie, but also in
the entire Indian movie market. Not just
because of my native language and the treatment that is meted out to the
regional enterprises and people, the success of Baahubali is only because of the
commitment of the people who made it, and the results are obvious.
When we experienced the success of Baahubali the
beginning, we knew the conclusive version of Baahubali will be as successful. The result is astonishing. The reception by the national media limiting
the box office success and the people who made it happen is also not
astonishing. What is not astonishing is
the magnitude of economic success to everyone involved in the franchise. It will no longer make me wonder about the
national coverage of regional success stories, even when they are earth
shattering. What makes me feel emphatic
is that the grounded nature of the main characters of this massive business,
marketing and profitable venture, which not just made money but also movie
goers watch the movie/s in awe.
References:
1 comment:
success has many fathers and many more uncles. Only one mother.
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