Yash-starer KGF gave a strong boost to the Kannada film industry by being the first Kannada movie to cross Rs. 200 crore target worldwide. In Karnataka along, KGF made Rs.100 crore. Other films like Yajamana and Nata Sarvabhouma also served as major game changers. Until now the success rate of the films made in the Kannada language was only 5 to 10%
But these three movies have indeed ensured an escalation in the success ratio of Kannada films. Importantly, all these three movies not only gained success at the box office in India but were also a success offshore.
KGF Emerges Successful Despite Tough Competition From Khan’s Zero
KGF was the clear winner of last year and emerged successful despite tough competition from Shah Rukh Khan’s big release Zero. Recently released Yajamana received a good opening of Rs. 6.7 crore on its release on March 1. Prior to that, Nata Sarvabhouma of Puneeth Rajkumar that was released in theaters on February 7 went beyond this number by collecting Rs.7.50 crore on its opening day.
Incidentally, KGF is the costliest film ever made in Kannada with a budget of Rs.80 crore. Even after the release of Ranveer Singh’s Simmba, and the epic war movie Uri: The Surgical Strike, KGF continued to maintain its pace. Even the Hindi version of KGF was a success collecting Rs. 42 crore in a month. According to experts, KGF is the first Kannada movie to do this well in Hindi.
Another big deal for KGF is that it is the fourth highest grosser movie from South India just after Bahubali series and 2.0 of Rajnikant. Along with Hindi and Kannada, KGF: Chapter 1 was also released in other South Indian languages including Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam.
Nata Sarvabhouma And Yajamana Setting Tone For 2019
After the huge success of KGF, Yajamana and Nata Sarvabhouma have already set a tone for 2019 for the Kannada film industry. Currently, the Kannada movies lag far behind from the other South Indian films like Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam. According to Sreedhar Pillai, a film trade analyst, “KGF is the first Kannada film that has performed okay outside the state (Karnataka).” Pillai said that South Indian movies in Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam are much bigger because there is a large audience for its content overseas.
There is a huge overseas market for Telugu film industry in the USA. Similarly, Sri Lanka offers a huge market for Tamil movies as the Sri Lankans grows up watching Tamil films. Even those who have migrated to the US or Cannada prefer watching Tamil movies. And there is a huge market for Tamil movies overseas. On the other hand, Kannada movies have a market only in the US.
Kannada Film Industry Problems To Get Some Respite
While speaking at the 11th edition of Bengaluru International Film Festival (Biffes), the Chief Minister of Karnataka, HD Kumaraswamy asked the Kannada film industry members to submit the list of their problems so that a possible solution can be found out. According to Kumaraswamy, the success rate of Kannada films is not much but even then the industry should keep on making good movies. Hopefully, with aid from the chief minister, the Kannada movies will come out of its shadow and emerge bigger and better.
