RAIN FALL DOWN FALL
Rs.1 Crore Loss To Filmdom Everyday

Report by - CNB        Photos - K.M. Veeresh        Date -25th October 2005   Time - 11.30 PM

Male Banthu Male….. hani haniyage serithu……., Male male surimale…, the audience have seen such rain songs on the silver screen. Now the same rain in real life is a hardship for them to enter their favorite star films. That is the breezy rain in Karnataka's most parts in the last 24 hours. 

According to one estimate made by senior exhibitor and past president of Karnataka film chamber of commerce K.V.Chandrasekhar the estimated loss for Kannada film industry (Producer, distributor and exhibitor sector) is Rs.1 crore from the heavy rain lashing many parts of Karnataka in the last 24 hours. The rainfall of Tuesday is expected to remain stagnant for a few more days according to the sources.

Added to the bane from the rain the collection drops to a notable extent when cricket match takes place. India and Sri Lanka one day international has further dashed the hopes of collection in the 800 main theatres in Karnataka says K.V.Chandrasekhar. The touring talkies and tents are not taken in to consideration in this loss estimation.

In the morning shows all over Karnataka there was 50 percent dip in theatre attendance on Tuesday. By 2nd show the down fall in audience attendance from the rain fall would be 85 percent. The audience coming by walk to the theatres of their vicinities is only 15 percent is the estimate of Chandrasekhar who is in the cinema exhibition since two decades. 

Actor and producer representing the prestigious house of Dr.Rajkumar - Raghavendra Rajkumar is of the opinion that the cinema entertainment industry suffers huge loss at the theatre collection. The general public will not take public transport, the two wheeler and three wheeler audience to the theatres faces the blockade of city roads. This results in theatre attendance. This is the festival season. People will throng at the theatres. Rain lashing like this would lead to huge losses that is difficult to estimate says Raghavendra Rajkumar. 

There are as many as 40 Kannada films on floor. They are shooting either interior or exterior parts of Karnataka says senior Film PRO D.V.Sudheendra of Raghavendra Chitravani. According to his calculation nearly 20 Kannada films are shooting on outdoor locations. They have to halt their shooting because of rains says Sudheendra. 

The loss from 24 hours rain for the producers collectively would be roughly 25 to 30 lakhs. The President of Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce H.D.Gangaraju and B.N.Gangadhar have made this assessment. 

Sa.Ra.Govindu, vice president of Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce says he has not seen such rains in the last 28 years of his stay in the Kannada filmdom. 80 percent of theatre collection would be down is his opinion. 

According to key person in the television front B.Suresh the loss for the television sector is very less. There are 25 mega television serial shooting is taking place. Most of them do shooting in houses and bungalows. The transportation time loss and generators technical snag loss is what matters says Suresh.

According to Mr. Venkatesh owner of Mukunda theater, the show at Mukunda which was screening Jogi film was stopped from the first show today as there was very thin attendence. Naga and multiplex theaters had also faced the same problems