

Thank you, Rajni!

The Tamil star helps distributors and exhibitors of his film Baba recover their losses



N Sathiya Moorthy in Chennai

Recently, the distributors and exhibitors of the Tamil film industry held a thanksgiving ceremony for super star Rajnikant, who started a new trend as producer in his latest film, Baba .

The star returned the millions that the distributors and exhibitors had betted on his film and lost. Of course, the money returned was not their total investment in the film but the difference between the minimum guarantee and the actual amount that they had paid for the much-hyped film that did not live up to the expectations.

"Yet, it runs to millions of rupees. For individual distributors and cinema hall owners, it means a great deal in these times of distress," says a beneficiary of Rajni’s well thought-out and very meaningful effort.

In a way, Rajni may have set a healthy precedent, which other producers cannot overlook if their films flop. The late M G Ramachandran, thespian Sivaji Ganesan and some mega-budget producers had compensated the distributors and exhibitors for their losses by making another film, where the costs and prices were kept at comfortable levels for all parties. In one such case, after late BR Banthulu's rich and expensive Karnan (based on the epic Mahabharat ) did not rake in the moolah down the line, he did a social drama next. Sivaji Ganesan is believed to have done Muradan Muthu for free.

The low-budget movie did come as a breather to the distributors and exhibitors, yet Banthulu switched staples and made Arasa-kattalai with MGR, which was a money-spinner for everyone.

Even actors like Kamal Hassan are known to make low budget films after their big budget films lose out in the box-office. However, actors are not always the producer of their films, and not all the losing distributors and exhibitors from their previous films stand to gain.

The fate of hyped Baba was known, even at the equally-hyped premier. And by the third day of its August 15 release, distributors and exhibitors had started making a beeline for Rajnikant’s Chennai home. If the star had to be away at the US after his spiritual guru, Sachidananda Swami passed away recently, on his return, they had only one plea: make another quick film to make up for their losses.

"Even in our wildest dreams we did not expect Rajni to make cash-down payment as he has done now," says a cinema hall owner from a western district. Rajni, however, would not think of another project after putting the tribe in debt. "He has also promised to make another film and we are now confident that the losers of this time would be considered favourably for distribution and exhibition rights," adds the exhibitor.

But murmurs of protest are already being heard in the backrooms of Kodambakkam. Certain producers claim that Rajni should have set a precedent that would be hard to oppose and harder to impose. According to them, the cost of Baba was much less than the marketed price, something as low as 10-20 per cent.

"The money was to put on the 'Rajni brand-image'. When that did not click, there was still money in the kitty to return," says a producer adding, "In our case, a big budget film eats money. Barring the star fees, nothing can actually be retrieved, as these are money spent on massive sets, costume, outdoor locations and the like."

Of course, those present at the thanksgiving function refused to see the good trend any other way. "Now that Rajni has begun it, producers may be more careful on where they put their money in. The production costs are likely to come down. Over time, it could also mean that one-time-wonders will be wiped out of the Tamil film industry and family-oriented producers and corporatised entities would come to the centre-stage. After all, you cannot have the Johnny-come-lately vanishing into thin air after his first or second film flopped."

Likewise, actors, who are no patch either on the talent of Kamal Hassan, or the box-office reputation of Rajnikant would be forced to rethink on their fees. Some of them already charge Rs 30 million a film, which is preposterous by any standards, as Tamil cinema does not have an all-India market and none of these stars are guarantors for successful 're-runs' of their films.