Low-budget, quality Malayalam films to get push in Kerala

Malayalam cinema may witness a change in the coming months as various associations are mulling to give importance to films with strong content in the future. Despite receiving positive reviews, many well-made, low-budget films currently disappear from theatres within days of release, resulting in significant financial losses for producers. This trend has also left many filmmakers disheartened, as their critically acclaimed work struggles to find adequate support and screen space.

Speaking to Onmanorama, Producers Association president B Ragesh said that, in collaboration with the Kerala Film Chamber, discussions have already begun to ensure that smaller, content-driven films receive more space in theatres moving forward. “Sometimes, small-budget films that truly deserve more theatrical presence are forced to make way for bigger releases. We can’t entirely blame the exhibitors, as the market dynamics favor films with higher revenue potential — it’s a business reality. However, we believe that low-budget films with strong content shouldn’t be sidelined. They, too, deserve a fair chance,” he said.

Ragesh added that exhibitors are also wary since 70 per cent of the time, low-budget movies are half-baked products made without sufficient dedication or sincerety. “We will keep a tab of movies that get good word of mouth and also seek the opinion of the exhibitors on a weekly basis. Based on that, we will set aside a prime slot for such movies during the weekends,” he said.

Film Chamber president Anil Thomas too made similar statements in this regard. According to him, the chamber, along with FEFKA, have already approached the Kerala State Film Development Corporation, to play such films in their theatres too during prime slots. “Their cooperation is important since it will also help several independent filmmakers who sometimes struggle to get a slot in theatres,” Anil said.

Filmmakers, who have faced the brunt of bigger films overshadowing their movies, welcomed the move. According to ‘Sahasam’ director Bibin Ashok, the move will help bridge the existing gap between good films and the audience, who may miss out on films with solid content, just because it did not get sufficient time in theatres. Another filmmaker, who did not want to be named said that his film was removed from theatres when a film by a big name was released. But since it did not do well, it was brought back to theatres on Monday, immediately after the weekend. But this affects us, since we are hoping that our kind of films also get audiences during the weekends. It will at least take a week for our films to reach the audience attention. y then, if our films removed from theatres, we stand no chance,” he said.