Gandhinagar is abuzz with latest controversy. Members of KFCC have protested against Kannada actors and actresses taking part in shows on television. They point out that due to this people do not come to watch films in theatres on weekend. Sa Ra Govindu had recently protested in front of Innovative Film City, where popular reality show “Bigg Boss 4” is being shot. He requested Sudeep to back out as the host of the show.
Many producers feel that this trend of actors being part of TV shows is affecting box office collections. The stars who are currently part of reality shows are Sudeep (Bigg Boss), Shivarajkumar (Kick), Rachitha Ram (Kick), Jaggesh (Comedy Khiladigalu), Ravichandran (Dancing Stars), Priyamani (Dancing Stars) and Rakshitha (Comedy Khiladigalu).
Commenting on this, Ganesh, a film producer said, “It is a sad that film actors are being part of small screen. Due to this, films are not working on big screen. All the big stars come in programmes which are aired in the weekend. Due to this, audience is discouraged to come for weekend evening and night shows. When they can watch the stars for free at home, why will they pay and watch films.”
Supporting this, a producer who does not want his name to be revealed says, “Actors get paid for these shows handsomely. But the producers are suffering. First of all we do not get enough screens in Karantaka to release films. We also face competition from non-Kannada films. And now these reality shows are playing spoilsport. We are also against Celebrity Cricket League, as these matches are played in weekends. A film’s box office collection is mainly dependent on weekends.”
“I know it is their personal choice. But they cannot let Kannada films suffer more. The actors have reached this position due to films. If they had not acted in films, they would not be celebrities today. My sincere request to actors is to stop being part of TV shows. If they still want to be part of any show, let them work on programmes which are aired on weekdays or in programmes which are telecasted after 11 in the night on weekends,” he added.
However, not all agree with this. Vinay, a businessman says, “All this is nonsense. If a film is good, it will run irrespective of any competition from small screen. Even though popular reality shows are running now, films like “Dodmane Huduga” and “Jaguar” are doing excellent business. Instead of getting involved in this, let the producers stop release of other language films on so many screens. That is affecting Kannada films more than anything. The Tamil dubbed version of “Nagarahavu” was not allowed to release in Tamil Nadu, but Tamil films have been released in Bengaluru this Friday. If they have guts, let them protest for this.”
None of the top stars have come out in open to speak regarding this controversy. The reason is not known yet. But it would be better, if they open up on this issue.
Asking stars not to participate in shows on small screen is vague. If the film is good, people will come to theatre to watch. Instead of protesting for this, producers should look into different aspects for getting crowds to theatres. Kannada films have faced so many troubles. This problem does not look big at all compared to the ones which they are facing. One more thing to remember is that reality shows are also a platform to promote Kannada films. So many small films benefit from this, when Sudeep or Shivarajkumar ask people to watch the film in theatre.
Just like how it is on big screen, it is same on the small screen. Only if content is liked, the show works irrespective of stars backing it. There are many serials which perform better than reality shows. That does not mean these producers will ask for a ban on serials next. Producers should market their film and reality shows are their biggest platform for promoting films.
