Chennai: Well-known producer Prem Menon, who successfully distributed Vikram-starrer I and Baahubali: The Beginning among other films in Kerala, believes the phenomenal success of these movies has widened the market for non-Malayalam films in the state.
Both I and Baahubali were high earners in Kerala, with a combined gross of over Rs. 20 crore.
"The success of 'Baahubali' and 'I' opened the eyes of distributors and theatre owners. It even widened the market for non-Malayalam films in Kerala. While 'Baahubali' grossed over Rs. 11 crore in its entire run, 'I' grossed around Rs. 10 crore," Menon, Managing Director, Global United Media (GUM), told IANS.
Read: Baahubali 2 movie review
It's with Shankar-directed Tamil revenge drama I, the company began its distribution journey. Since then, there's been no looking back for GUM which is gearing up for the release of Baahubali 2: The Conclusion on April 28.
Asked about the secret formula behind the successful distribution model, he said "carpet bombing of screens"
"When we bought 'I' and were planning to release in 225 screens, a lot of people thought we were doing a mistake. One needs to understand that a shelf life of a film today is the first three days. Then, the content and word-of-mouth decides the fate of a film," he said.
"But if you could draw maximum audiences in the first three days, you're at least guaranteed very good opening. We give prime importance to marketing," Menon, whose company is credited for creating the world's largest poster of "Baahubali" first part during its release, said.
Does the success of a film solely rely on wide release?
"There's no thumb rule. Sometimes you go by your gut feeling. I saw bits and pieces of 'Baahubali 1' and I knew deep down it will work. It has mostly worked but for some rare cases. Tamil film 'Devi', for instance, when we released, opened well but lost steam as it had to compete with 'Pulimurugan'," he explained.
Baahubali 2: The Conclusion is releasing in Tamil and Malayalam in around 300 screens in Kerala.
"Baahubali 2' will have an even bigger release. This is the kind of film which doesn't get made every day. Since the release of 'Baahubali 1', the total number of theatres in Kerala has increased which has automatically paved way for a wider release for the second part," he said.
