Click to play videoBangalore: The Rockline studio in Bangalore would have been throbbing with activity on Dussehra, mostly with the mahurat of new films. But this year, the cameras have stopped rolling and it's pack-up time in Bangalore.
Producers say that starting this Dussehra, no new films will be produced as they are not able to compete with non-Kannada films.
"Last year we had losses of Rs 55 crore in 52 films. Only one film did well. We are not in a position to make films. We held a general body meeting that we're not making films. We decided we are not going to blame anyone but we'll not make films," President, Film Producers' Action Committee, Rajendra Singh Babu said.
One of the reasons for this protest is that very few Kannada films are doing well at the box office these days. Of 50 films made this year, just three have managed to create ripples.
Though, the festive season sees a large turnout of viewers, filmmakers say the crowds prefer watching films in other languages.
The hugely popular Telugu film Chiranjeevi-starrer Stalin, for instance, has been running to packed houses. Hindi films, too, are affecting Kannada revenues but theatre owners say the producers are being hasty.
"I think they are being aggressive. They should have discussed with other people and seen other solutions," a theatre owner, B S Arun Kumar said.
But filmmakers defend their move saying it's a question of survival for them.
"We cannot survive because ours is the only language in India to encounter 200 outside language films," Babu said.
As the argument goes on, filmmakers are planning to take their dispute to the government.
It's an inter-state dispute of a different kind that's playing out in Karnataka. But what will all this lead to?
Insiders say it could ultimately backfire on Kananda films as they would lose ground because if no new films are made over the next few months, films in other lanauages will gain more popularity.
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