In
recent times there has been much discussion
about the realistic, classic films against
the mass commercial films. Recently director
Lingusamy when quoting about the success
of “Paiyaa” referred that
people where happy to see a film without
any dirt or filth.
Though I like to see both realistic movies
and mass commercial movies, I give preferences
to either of them based on my mood on
the day when I am hitting the theatre.
When looking at bigger picture, the distinction
between realistic, award based movies
and commercial films exist not only in
Kollywood, but also in Bollywood and Hollywood.
Many of the small movies with innovative
concept and barring big stars find limited
release in Bollywood. Examples being “Little
Zozu”, “Welcome to Sajjanpur”
have got limited release. I am not sure
if they were released in Chennai. A recent
good movie “City of Gold”
was released in Chennai, but it just had
one week run in Chennai. Definitely it
deserved much better response.
In Hollywood, the way it works is more
different. If the concept is new and if
there is no mass element, the movie will
start with limited release in big centres,
followed by wider release, in spite of
the big star case. Recent example being
“Up in the air” starring George
Clooney. Though it had a A+ star cast,
it got a limited release, won critical
acclaim, became a hopeful Oscar nominee
(which later turned out to be true) and
went on to become a hit move across US.
Another movie which went big from small
release to blockbuster is “Slumdog
millionaire”.
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