Budget vs Quality

Since beginning, budget has always been a crucial factor in the film industry. While majority of the producers tries to make films with a budget of Rs 3 crore to Rs 5 crore, which is considered  normal for Malayalam films, some are ready to invest more than that for technical perfection. However, following the trend in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi, Mollywood too is making big budget films which are capable of competing with other languages on technical and budgetary parameters. In fact, the success of Pulimurugan, which is reported as the first Malayalam movie to spend Rs 25 crore and on its way to enter the 100-crore club, more directors are coming up with big budget films.

Jayaraj’s Veeram, R.S. Vimal’s Prithviraj-starrer Karnan, Madhupal’s directorial on the tale of Karnan with Mammootty and debutant Sidhil Subrahmanian’s Tovino Thomas film Chengazhi Nambiar are gearing up to follow suit with a humongous budgets. When the makers opt to make films with big budget and target audience outside the state, do they ensure the so-called ‘Malayali’ ethos in their projects? Actor-turned-director Madhupal says that he does not believe that Malayali essence is not absent in big budget cinema alias Brahmanda cinema (The universal film). “The recently-released Pulimurugan is also a Malayalam cinema. It is a perfect example which shows a universal cinema can be made from Malayalam.” He points out that the budget of each film is fixed based on its subject.

“For example, Titanic is a romantic subject. But it’s been narrated against the backdrop of a ship. So naturally, the budget for this project would be more than that of other films in the same genre. Like that, it can be placed in any language,” he says, adding, “Culture is what we showed through the visuals. It will be based on where we place the subject. When we tell a story of pre-Independence era, we have to recreate that period, which itself needs a particular budget. So, the culture of each film should be fixed by its screenwriter as well as the director.” R.S. Vimal, who debuted with Prithviraj-starrer big budget film Ennu Ninte Moideen, says though his maiden venture cost around Rs 9 crore, it was all spent to recreate the environment of the 1960s to 80s.

“As Ennu Ninte Moideen was a period film, we had to ensure no modern elements had entered the frame. Besides, we were keen to bring nostalgic elements to each frame. That means, the big budget of that film was to make the project more realistic,” says the director amid the pre-production of his magnum opus Karnan. "From the conception stage, we knew that this project (Karnan) is not an easy one as it needs more time for pre-production, production and post-production. This film is being made with a budget of Rs 300 crore. As I said in the case of ENM, this budget is also what demanded by the subject. When ENM had a story set against the backdrop of a Kerala village, Karnan is, as everyone knows, a pan-Indian subject, which demands more investment in technical side as well as the creative phase,” he says.

Filmmaker Sathyan Anthikad, who is noted for making feel-good- family entertainers in Malayalam, opines that the new trend is good for the industry. “I think this trend is good for our film industry. Till recent times, big films with big stars from other industries were collecting cash from theatres in our state, as part of the wide release. Now, we can show such a film from our industry. It may entertain more such makers to come in. In the meantime, more than the cost, quality is what determines the fate of the films. If a director tries to come up with a bad film with a big budget, audience will reject that project. You can see many such films that have flopped,” says the director.

Sathyan says no good films with small budget will fall just because of the arrival of universal films. “Any small-budget good film can become a hit with good marketing. The best examples are Premam and Anuraga Karikkinvellam. Years back, my Sasneham was released opposite multi-starrer No 20 Madras Mail. But both the films were hits. So I am sure that the big budget films will not affect the fate of small films. For that, directors and writers should create their own identity like Bharathan, Padmarajan, Priyadarsan and now Alphonse Puthren and Anwer Rasheed ,” he sums up.