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What's in a language, did you ask? Isn't cinema a medium beyond words? Apparently not in Karnataka, where 70-odd cine theatres Statewide, including the IT capital of Bangalore, had downed their shutters by September 2. That was in protest against the State Government's apathy to the Kannada film industry's moratorium on screening non-Kannada films for seven weeks after their release nationwide. Why? To protect the interests of Kannada films, currently in the doldrums.

In Bangalore, where non-Kannadigas outnumber Kannada-speakers, citizens are still in shock. Won't such a protectionist, parochial move in a screen-happy, cosmopolitan city, just shift loyalties to the VCD and DVD circuit, thus adding more fuel to the ongoing film impasse?

Whether at upmarket Rex on Brigade Road (where Spiderman 2 had a huge fan following), classy Symphony on M.G. Road, the Innovative Multiplex at Marathahalli, or Kamakya theatre in Kathriguppe, movie halls have put up `No Show' signs in response to a bandh call by the Karnataka Cinema Theatre Owners' Association.

Anil Kapur, Joint Managing Director, Rex and Symphony, is incensed by the moratorium. "If the industry says I can't screen films in other languages, doesn't it deprive me of my constitutional rights? And what about my patrons' right to choose?" Angrily, he asks, "Even when I run Kannada films on the State Rajyotsava Day as a positive gesture, there are so few takers. How will this ban help the Kannada industry?"

Apart from the losses to theatre owners, to the tune of over Rs 25 lakh a week, thousands of fringe jobs are affected. They include canteen boys, security staff, ushers and print processing laboratories. How long will the industry take to recover from this moratorium?

Movie buffs are miffed

On the streets, the mood among film-goers is militant. "Why can't Bangaloreans watch movies in other languages? I doubt if it will hurt Kannada films when thousands like me watch films starring Rajkumar and Vishnuvardhan," says Raghavendra Kumar, a sales assistant. "I'm a first-day, first-show type, which suits my work timings fine. What will I do now for seven weeks, when Bangalore offers so little as entertainment besides pubs?" asks IT professional Shruti Tandon, who is from Mumbai.

"It'll be terrible for Bangalore's image. What will I tell my friends about our so-called cosmopolitan city? I don't understand Kannada, so why should I watch their movies? I'd rather wait for Fida or Phir Milenge," says Prerna, a collegian from Ajmer. "Even in Kolkata, I don't think Bengali films make big bucks. But that doesn't mean they'll ban English or Hindi films. It's scandalous!" exclaims Aniruddh, who is working in a BPO company.

What ails the Kannada film industry, with subsidies up to Rs 10 lakh for a quality film and incentives for re-makes from other languages? Sources within acknowledge that the industry is losing up to Rs 3 crore weekly as a result of the theatre closures. The Karnataka exchequer is missing out on about Rs 75 lakh by way of taxes it raked in from non-Kannada films, since local films are tax-exempted.

Distributing troubles?

Director Girish Kasaravalli, four times winner of the national Swarna Kamal for films like Ghatashradha and Thayi Saheba, views the imbroglio from an insider's perspective. He points out that the State's entire distribution and exhibition network is controlled by non-Kannadigas, who bring in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi and English films, making Karnataka the only State to screen a six-language fare. In their off-screen gambit, these powerful men (mainly Marwaris or Tamilians) prefer to stake nearly Rs 6 crore to Rs 10 crore on a film starring Telugu megastar Chiranjeevi rather than Rs 2 lakh on a mainstream Kannada film. Thus, of the 100-odd theatres in Bangalore, barely 10 to 15 screen Kannada films. And, if a successful film runs for 100 days in the four Kannada-screen halls in the crowded Majestic area, what about the fate of other films in the pre-release queue?

"It's no wonder the market is very tense," argues Kasaravalli. "Up to the 1970s, we had distributors who handled only Kannada films. Now, it's a different scenario. With the budgets that distributors invest in non-Kannada films, they could release 10 mainstream Kannada films. But they don't see it from our viewpoint. They are unwilling to take the gamble. Besides, to non-Kannada filmmakers, Karnataka is an additional territory for release. To us, it's our only turf, our home turf. We're talking of our livelihood here, not the luxury of additional territory."

To those who argue for improved Kannada film quality to stake a greater market share, Girish explains ironically, "We don't get to watch the best by Shyam Benegal here. Why do the distributors send us such Hindi trash, no better than ours?" He continues, "Isn't it more economical for distributors to test new films elsewhere before bringing them to Bangalore?"

Outsourcing is out?

How will the moratorium impact a city that thumbs its nose at the world with its outsourcing success story? Director Kavitha Lankesh, whose Preethi, Prema, Pranaya recently won her a second National Award, is outspoken in her response.

"It's disgusting. What our industry lacks is professionalism and accountability. Kannada films can't compete with the pan-Indian appeal of Hindi films or the budgets and market appeal of Tamil or Telugu movies. But can't we at least improve the quality of our content? Or make movies with the large-screen appeal of Titanic, which will wean audiences away from home theatres or TV?"

Sahitya Akademi awardee Mahesh Dattani, whose second directorial film foray in English, Morning Raaga, stars Shabani Azmi and Perizaad Zorabian, comments over the telephone from Bhopal, "This ban is such a pity! As a Bangalorean, I'd like to show my film in my city first. And now I can't. I'll have to show it elsewhere. That doesn't make sense to me... "

Kavitha argues, "Unless the industry revokes its moratorium, the backlash could be terrible. Language-based biases could get deeper. And people's prejudices will get worse. How will it help anybody?"

Isn't that why a Bollywood delegation recently took the issue up with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh?

Meanwhile, local theatre owners have invited stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Vikram and Chiranjeevi to participate in a `solidarity march' against the moratorium later this month. Mumbai-based director Yash Chopra argues, "We're trying to release our movies in Pakistan, yet we can't do it in our own country! Let them give benefits to Kannada films, but how can they stop ours from being screened?"

Where will this masala matinee in technicolour finally end? It's anyone's guess at the moment.

Picture by G.R.N. Somashekar

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