With four movies releasing on 2 June, including Yadha Yadha Hi, Pinki Elli?, Hint, and Radha Ramana, the total number of Kannada films that have hit the screens this year so far is 101.
“A majority of movies released in the first quarter of 2023 were mostly waiting in queue to hit the screens since the pandemic times,” Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce president Bha Ma Harish told South First.
“While the entire state was hooked on to the election affairs and youngsters watching their favourite IPL team playing in the evening, theatres' collections suffered.” industry insiders averred.
Popular director Shashank — known for his works Moggina Manasu (2008) and Bachchan (2013) — told South First that 200-plus Kannada movies were released in the past few years.
“This to me is both good and bad. Good in terms of industry growth. However, it is bad because of inexperienced filmmakers with no practical experience of the industry.
He pointed out that “new producers are made to believe that satellite rights, dubbing rights, and digital rights would fetch them good returns even before the film hits the theatres”.
New film producers in the industry and the 100-plus movies getting released were led by the belief that good content can lead to success, irrespective of the presence of star actors or the filmmakers.
Apart from Kranti and Kabzaa, other movies that earned appreciation for their quality content and filmmaking include Pentagon, Shivaji Surathkal 2, and Raghavendra Stores.