Big screen vs small screen

STATE UPDATE/KERALA

Who's afraid of Malayalam television serials? If you believe actors and actresses in Kerala, the state's film producers are.

The Kerala Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC), the apex body of the associations of film producers, distributors and exhibitors in the state, has threatened to stop all film shooting and post-production work from March 8. If the KFCC goes ahead, the Malayalam film industry will come to a halt.

The KFCC's threat is meant to protest against the decision of the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA) to participate in a March 7 star night programme sponsored by Asianet, the private Malayalam TV channel.

AMMA general secretary and super star Mohanlal is not taking this lying down. He has threatened to form a new film chamber if the KFCC continues to dictate terms to the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes.

The outcome of this face off will be an unprecedented crisis in an industry that is already hit by high power tariffs and entertainment tax, pirated CDs, very few box office hits and a low turnover in cinema theatres.

The nub of the problem, of course, is the state's TV serials boom. TV serials have huge audiences. As a result, many film stars have started acting in them. So the cash registers at cinema theatres are ringing less and less frequently.

KFCC president Siyad Kokker notes that so far 180 cinema houses in the state have either closed or have been converted into shopping malls or marriage halls, and says: "If the channels continue to air popular films and programmes featuring actors and playback singers, families will be glued to their television sets and this will have a bearing on the collection in theatres."

After meetings and discussions between KFCC and AMMA, actors had agreed not to act in TV serials. This compromise was reached under the mediation of the Malayalam Cine Technicians Association (MACTA) in December 2002.

According to Kokker, it had been agreed that film stars would seek the permission of the three associations, Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes, KFCC and the Malayalam Cine Technicians Association (MACTA), before accepting invitations to attend star night programmes organised by TV channels.

By agreeing to attend Asianet TV's star night scheduled on March 7, the film stars have violated that agreement, he says.

Underpinning this is a second bone of contention "" film stars are paid far too much. "Super stars like Dileep, Mohan Lal and Mamooty are paid around Rs 50 lakh or more, while heroines are paid Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7 lakh. Other artists are paid Rs 7 lakh to Rs 20 lakh. So the payment to artists works out to around 50 to 60 per cent of the total cost incurred on making a film," Kokker claims.

"To save this industry, film stars should reduce their remuneration to 30 per cent of the total cost," he demands.

Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes secretary and comedian actor Edavela Babu retorts: "If they feel that the remuneration demanded by film actors is high, let them not pay it. No one is forcing producers to pay high remuneration. They are only paying it of their own volition."

Kokker blames the increasing number of non-resident Indians (NRIs) who venture into filmmaking for jacking up payments to film stars.

The NRIs then exit the film industry after making a film or two, but actors and actresses continue to demand similar rates from other producers.

Babu replies that, rather then blaming NRIs, Malayalam film producers should blame themselves: "If we produce the post-dated cheques that these producers have given us but which have been dishonoured, they will find it very embarrassing."

Kerala's actors are determined to take part in the star night.

Film star Innocent, who is also the president of AMMA, says film stars will participate in the Asianet programme.

Saying that Asianet Channel would be spending Rs 13.5 lakh on award money during the star night programme, Babu says that the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes will use it for the welfare of former film stars.

Adds he: "It is not the star night programme, but the telecast of films on TV that is the real problem. But the producers are not interested in putting a stop to that either because they will then have to forgo the money they get from TV channels."

Asianet vice president (program) R Sreekandan Nair argues that even today some films are doing well. "So it is not a good practice to blame TV channels for the failure of some films."

The reel story goes back to 2002 when the increasing popularity of Malayalam TV channels and shrinking movie budgets lured actors to the small screen.

Film producers then asked big stars like Mammooty, Mohan Lal and Dileep to stop working in films altogether if they wanted to continue acting in teleserials.

In retaliation, Dileep filed charges against producer Dinesh Panicker, alleging that two checks the producer had written had bounced.

This caused a major rift in the industry and the KFCC responded by threatening to ban Dileep from working in Malayalam films unless he apologised for filing the complaint and paid a hefty fine. But Dileep didn't relent and the stand-off has continued since then.

All of this, of course, has to be viewed against the backdrop of the Malayam film industry's dwindling fortunes.

According to K G George, chairman of the Malayalam Cine Technicians Association and a film maker himself, only 60 films are produced annually today versus 125 films five years ago.

Kokker says that only 46 films were released in 2003, down from an average of 120 films every year till 1999. Of these, hardly four films became box office hits.

So expect more faceoffs in an industry that's passing through bad times.