fw || wm | o |snmel search tere a Out with the old & Sreedhar Pillai rensuan 20 38st summer fv |e | wm Bem AT AL A and in with the new. Advances in projection technology have ended the dominance of traditionally stronger regions ‘Upuntil 2008, the regions that ruled Kollywood were NSC (North Arcot, South Arcot, Chengalpet), Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichy- Thanjavur, Salem, Tirunelveli-Kanyakumari (TK) and Chennai City, in that order. Kerala, Karnataka and the overseas had just started ‘emerging. But this is not so any more, as digital projection has ended the dominance ofthese areas. Chengalpet, which was earlier apart ‘of NSC, has now become the highest-grossing area in Tamil Nadu, followed by Coimbatore, and Chennai City, which were earlier at the bottom. The3Cs, as the three territoriesare known, contribute almost 65 to75 per cent ofthe total box-office grossin the State, depending onthe film. Areas such as MR (Madurai-Ramanathapuram),TT (Trichy-Thanjavur), North & South Arcot, have become less importantas collection centres in Tamil Nad. In fact Kerala and Karnataka are now more lucrative for star-driven films than TKand Salem, Also, Tamil cinema's overseas ave likelv tp oenerate moreineame than even the Chenoalnet area by theend ofthis yea. thischangehasc ses, the mkiplex boom nthe 3x, and mos significa singe sceensia smaller owns gesingconvered &é by» ae) LeTheriseofreal est stars, says, "Today bad condition, are Tucrative business urban areas too have changed status quo. A veteran producer, whe has made films with several ‘mtrein Tamil Nadu. Every theatreisa releasing station. Only a handful of theatres thatarein 1 films. Yearsago, simply screening old hits of MGR, Sivaji, Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan wasa shave stopped, as multiple satellite channels screen the same film. Moreover, these filmsare alsoavailableon Y a Cary Co or 2020 CMM cap sounnaain aa =2>9 ‘Thesole reason for business booming in the 3Cs and outside Tamil Nadu is the advent of digital screening. Distributors were earlier dependent on prints to screen their films, with each print costing around Rs. 67,000 (in 2008). Duet the high costof prints, distributors used to havea limited release, Even until 10 years ago, Chennai City could only release films in five screen (Mount Road, Mint/North Madras, Purasawalkam, \Vadapalani and KK Naga, but today, films are released in 30-plus screens. While the multiplexes in the cities took to digital screening ina big way, thesmall owns and rural areas were reluctant initially, butby 2014, the influx was complete From 80 to100 films every year, production too has doubled to over 200 films ayear due to the digital revolution. Senthil Kumar, co-founder of Real Image Media Technologies, says, “Digital screening has brought down not only the costof screening and production, butalso stopped piracy toa large extent. Today, a person sitting in Chennai can control the Tamil Nadu theatrical business, as 95 per centof the lifetime box-office collections come from release stations within afew weeks” In Tamil Nadu, the strong distribution network that used to be run by certain powerful people, nolonger exists. Today, 90 per centof the films are released ona commission basis without an outright sale of distribution rights, ‘Reminiscences veteran distributor, “Earlier, there used to bea terrific opening only for MGR or Sivaji, Rajinikanth or Kamal Haasan, ‘who were true stars. Every year, there were about 100 releases, with around 10 featuring big stars. Today there areatleasta dozen stars ‘who are able to command an opening, and so, theatres havea wider choice” ‘This has affected even the very kind of films being made, as more importance given to multiplex audiences in the3 Cs. How elsecan ‘you explain films like Kaaka Muttai and Visaranai releasing in 150-plus screens in Tamil Nadu and succeeding atthe box-office? Printable version | Oct 7, 2020 3:58:13 AM | Xtps://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/how-film-distribution-has-changed-with- times-in-kollywood article8289535,ece SEE ALL REPORTS (@THG PUBLISHING PVTI