Understanding the A, B and C of Cinema

When Ajith Kumar and director Shiva came together for the third time Vivegam (2017), after his last two successful films Veeram (2014) more Vedalami (2015), he had little thought that it would become fodder for memes on social media. The film was panned by critics and audiences collectively, quickly becoming one of the films to forget easily. Still, Ajith called Shiva again. faithful (2019), casting doubtful doubts over the choice of the star.

‘rural’ formula

This time, however, the two were smart enough to change their patterns quickly. Pongal of 2019 is a great example of cinema’s understanding of C (commerce): Ajith Kumar’s rural drama faithful The superstar stood up against Rajinikanth’s action-thriller petta, Although both films were a profitable venture, faithful reportedly performed better petta Particularly in B and C centers – traditionally seen as Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. So much so that the Ajith Kumar-starrer emerged as the biggest money-spinner, and even Rajinikanth wanted Shiva to make a similar film for him.

This ‘rural’, rather big, fat family drama-formula that the stars co-adapt cannot be seen as a harmless coincidence, but a well-planned calculation.

Let us take the example of Surya. The actor made enemies with the gatekeepers of the industry by opting for a digital release sorarai potru (2020) and Jai Bheem (2021), both produced by his production house 2D Entertainment. Assuming these films had a theatrical release, they would still be classified as a ‘multiplex’ product, which primarily focused on urban areas of the city known as ‘A’ centres.

But when Suriya decided to come to the theatres, he cleverly chose a rural drama Atharakkum Thunindavan Directed by Pandiraj. Although it was praised for its intent and message about sexual harassment faced by women, it was criticized for its prominent melodrama. As excruciating as last year was Annaatthe (starring Rajinikanth), which not only reinforced archaic stereotypes but also had the tone and texture of a tear-jerking television serial.

There is, of course, a common denominator that we are missing… what else explains why the commercial success of these films lies in centers B and C, which is the majority of the theater-going population in Tamil Nadu? What is it about the family drama that is biting the audience, which is also prompting one of the biggest stars of Indian cinema, Rajinikanth, to take up a village-set film. Annaatthe,

Of course, the stars aren’t here to impress the critics; Cinema is as much commerce as it is art. They have the added responsibility of covering the entire spectrum of the audience and hence, have to cater to their tastes.

a fake impression

In a recent interview HinduFilmmaker Venkat Prabhu talks about how the distributors felt that his Manadu (2021) will perform poorly at centers B and C, given its high concept on the time-loop. The fact that it performed surprisingly well in those centers is a different matter.

This ‘count’ is not a recent incident and the two main beneficiaries were Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan.

This was the norm during the 1980s: if an urban film failed to make money, they would immediately go for a . will switch to Murattu Kalai (1980) or Sakalkala Vallavan (1982).

However, senior journalist Shiv Kumar does not feel that Rajini and Kamal have completely capitalized on this formula. “Both acted in a few rural films, but that didn’t guarantee success. Murattu Kalai And Sakalkala Vallavan Despite how old the story was, there were huge hits. It is Prabhu, Vijayakanth and Ramarajan, who were based on rural themes and were moderately successful,” he says.

Sakalkala Vallavan A classic example of two worlds meeting to satisfy a large base of audience. In the film, Kamal played the role of a harmless villager who transforms into an English-speaking metrosexual in the second part. After Rajini-Kamal era, filmmakers are trying to emulate Sakalkala Vallavan Template.

It is believed that the stars themselves expect this confluence at the scripting level. during the promotion of Inai Noki Payum Thota (2019), Gautham Menon tells this writer how the stars ask Vivashayi (Farmer issue) Angle these days.

Since the pandemic and the explosion of digital streaming services, there is a strong belief that OTT has reduced the lines of the A, B and C subset of viewers.

Given that audiences are now warming up to inventive films with quirky ideas and new voices, the theater is expected to wind up with a change in the way movies are imagined. But the success of this ‘rural’ formula indicates that it’s important for these films to not take audiences for granted – whatever critics say.