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Why Don't Movies Run for long these days?

Topic started by Unmai (@ 24.130.233.129) on Fri Aug 9 11:23:20 EDT 2002.
All times in EST +10:30 for IST.

Do movies run for 100 days these days? If not? why? Cable TV or Bad quality or Video Piracy?
I think only people who are in rural areas watch movies in theaters. I can recall some of the movies that ran well. Kamalhasan was never considered to be a masala hero. In Came Sakalakala vallavan. It ran for 250 days. His market picked up. Rajini was already a superstar.
Around the same time Payum Puli came. It ran only for 100 days. Some of my classmates who were rajini fans became kamal fans because of Sakalakala Vallavan. Kamal came up with another hit in the form of Thoongathe Thambi Thoongathe which ran for 250 days. Munthanai Mudichu ran for 365 days. Mudhal Mariyadhai and Sindhu bhairavi ran for more than 100 days. Salangai Oli ran for 200 days i guess. Payanangal Mudivathillai ran for 175 days. Naan Padum Paadal ran for 100 days.
Vaidegi Kathirundal ran for 100 days. Udhya Geetham ran for 100 days. Poove Poochudava started slowly and ran for 200 days. Thendrale Ennai Thodu ran for more than 100 days. It was a dream period. Mouna Raagam ran for 175 days. Fazil made an impressive debut in tamil movie with Varusham 16. It ran for 100 days in 15 theaters. Even junk movies like Naan Sigappu Manithan and Kakki Chattai ran for 100 days.
Then came Karagattakaran. It broke many records.
It ran for 365 days. Maniratnam enjoyed great success. I don't think movie don't run that well these days. Why is that?

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Responses:

• Old responses
  
• From: Fliflo (@ 146.186.113.162) on: Fri Aug 9 14:10:29 EDT 2002
  
  But of course the piracy thing was not here :)
  
  MPR..that probably is a big thing indeed.
  
  
  
• From: Fliflo (@ 146.186.113.162) on: Fri Aug 9 14:15:10 EDT 2002
  
  Thiru..long message..took time to read..some very good points/issues. Will comment later.
  
  
• From: sabesan (@ 170.35.240.203) on: Fri Aug 9 14:22:29 EDT 2002
  
  What is that, that will pull the crowd to the theatre ? hmm... simple to ask, but iam sure its a million dollar question for all producers...
  
  i remember the time when Cliffhanger and True Lies were released in Chennai..... all the movies that were coming around that time was a total failure - junk movies..... every movie came and went.... but these 2 movies ran for 100 days (i believe Cliffhanger was in Devi complex, and True Lies in Satyam complex).... so what made people to come to the theatre ?
  
  the *big* lettered HINDI movies - Hum Aapkae and some other stuffs - how did these run ? i remember HAHK ran for a lot of weeks in Arupukkotai - a city where none of the Tamil movies had that kind of run ? how did this movie run so well ?
  
  how did Karakataakaran run so well ?
  
  going by the media and the msgs in the NET - Azhagi, Sethu, Kaasi, Alaai Payuthey - all these made a good run...... How did these movie run so well ?
  
  YES - video piracy is there.... it will be there always.... but did that stop people from coming to the theatre for the above mentioned recent movies ?
  
  i don't think people are going to make a movie run for 250 days now..... gone are the days when there were *repeated* audience.....
  
  (ok, what am i trying to say!!!!!!)
  
  
  
  
  
  
• From: sabesan (@ 170.35.240.203) on: Fri Aug 9 14:24:51 EDT 2002
  
  about Video Piracy - one question i have to the folks out here in US.... how many of us buy ONLY the ORIGINAL print ? i know many of us buy the $1 or $1.50 video cassette - an dumb ugly print one.... where - if in case Prabhu or Vijayakanth (of late Ajith) are the hero's then we would see only 1/2 of them....
  
  
• From: Fliflo (@ 146.186.113.218) on: Fri Aug 9 14:36:58 EDT 2002
  
  if in case Prabhu or Vijayakanth (of late Ajith) are the hero's then we would see only 1/2 of them....
  
  1/2 in quantity or picture size..Nalla Sonneega....
  
  
• From: thiru (@ 63.169.243.35) on: Fri Aug 9 14:41:03 EDT 2002
  
  sabesan... is there something called as an original copy in US?? I guess even the video shops get the copies from dvd or from Europe... BTW, u dont get a lot of pirated DVD copies... (ofcourse now with DVD-writer its possible) but the cost is almost the same I guess.......Also, video piracy doesnt affect many movie goers in US as the tamil population itself is very less and not all movies gets released in US.
  
  
• From: Fliflo (@ 146.186.113.218) on: Fri Aug 9 14:45:08 EDT 2002
  
  thiru..I am aware of pirated copies in Japan, Singapore, Maylasia..THese VCD's cost about US$4-6, much cheaper than DVDs. I have also seen them in Germany and UK, where considerable Tamil populations are there. I assume a similar situation in Canada too. Their contribution o the economy of movie profit is non-negligible.
  
  
• From: vimal (@ 68.2.72.111) on: Fri Aug 9 14:46:59 EDT 2002
  
  Because of dumukkus like you guys who waste more time on the internet!!
  
  
• From: Fliflo (@ 146.186.113.218) on: Fri Aug 9 14:48:57 EDT 2002
  
  vimal..oru threadla yaravathu santhosama iruntha ungalukku pidikkathe..ennappa ungalukku pirachinai?? :-))
  
  
• From: thiru (@ 63.169.243.35) on: Fri Aug 9 14:53:14 EDT 2002
  
  vimal,
  "Because of dumukkus like you guys who waste more time on the internet!!"
  
  neenga ippo aagayathula irundha indha message post paneenga....u are one among the lot....
  
  
• From: vimal (@ 68.2.72.111) on: Fri Aug 9 14:54:20 EDT 2002
  
  Fliflo,
  Sorry Man, I meant it in a totally humorous way, let me add the smiley that I missed!! :-)))
  
  
• From: Unmai (@ 24.130.233.129) on: Fri Aug 9 15:00:19 EDT 2002
  
  People who have internet access is the reason for audio piracy. So many ARR fans were claiming 1 lakhs cassettes of BABA were sold. IR fans countered with an argument it was forced to buy. Without even seeing the cover lot of ppl bought that. If you look at these guys, they wouldn't have bought BABA cassettes. They would have downloaded from MohanKumars.com. Neither ARR fans nor ARR detractors would have spent even a single rupee for BABA. It is the truth.
  
  Watching DVDs on hometheater is not exactly the same as watching in Theater but it is the closest experience. Unfortunately neither DVD nor home theater can be afforded by people in India. So they have to go to theater. There is a huge difference between watching it on VHS cassette and watching it on Theater. Especially English movies. Watching Mummy Returns in theater is a whole different experience than watching it on TV. So the experience is different. But do we really make movies of that sound quality? Technical innovation? Answer is no. We neither make technically superior movie nor movies like strong story line.
  
  Karagattakaran is a mystery to be solved. Kanaga a fresh face. Ramarajan with lipsticks on his lips. How could that movie do the impossible? Koundamani Banana joke? IR music? Karagattam? Story? I guess it is bit of everything.
  
  Bhagyaraj, Bharathi Raja, Balachander(4 hits Unnal mudiyum thambi, punnagai mannan, Pudhu Pudhu Arthangal, Sindhu Bhairavi), Maniratnam, Fazil, SP Muthu Raman, R.Sundarrajan, Manivannan they were all at their peaks in 80s. Rajini and Kamal were at their best. Illayaraja was at his best. Vairamuthu was at his best. SPB and SJ were literally ruling. Chitra entered. We had 3D movie Mydear kuttichathan making news. Sivaji was still giving occasional gems. 80s are considered to be golden period for Tamil movies. Even animal director Rama Narayanan entered into Guinness book by directing 23 movies in one year. T.Rajendar was making some waves too with his all round talent(exclude acting and singing). S.A.Chandrasekhar also started his career in 80s.
  
  
  
  90s saw decline of everything. Maniratnam gave his second worst movie in the form of Thiruda Thiruda. Flop. Then came Iruvar which was not a great success. Uyire was another poor effort from him. AP, KM barely met the the standard he set. Bharathi Raja is the worst loser in 90s. Bhagyaraj was also slowing down. Balachander was losing his class. After i saw Parthale Paravasam i wondered if he is the same who directed, Edir Neechal, Neer Kumizhi, Bama Vijayam, Sarvar Sundaram.
  
  Suddenly they fight for everything. Two associations fighting. Too much politics in tamil field. Vijayakanth group. Sarathkumar group. Rajini group. It is getting worse and worse. It is a dark period for tamil movies.
  
  
  
  
  
• From: Fliflo (@ 146.186.113.218) on: Fri Aug 9 15:03:17 EDT 2002
  
  So many ARR fans were claiming 1 lakhs cassettes of BABA were sold. IR fans countered with an argument it was forced to buy.
  
  Come on..Unmai..don't take it for granted man..this news came in Kumudam. I posted that site there!
  
  
• From: Unmai (@ 24.130.233.129) on: Fri Aug 9 15:06:46 EDT 2002
  
  Fliflo i didn't disagree with you. It is the truth. I read in many places. Point is ARR fans post here didn't buy the cassette. .
  
  
• From: thiru (@ 63.169.243.35) on: Fri Aug 9 15:51:17 EDT 2002
  
  guys......... inga baba topic vename pls... i try to stay away from that group just becos this.....
  
  unmai, 80's was ofcourse the best of tamil cinema...(probably the topic for the next forum i guess)... 90's had its share of good movies though. lot of actors did mature during this period.. Kamal made some gr8 movies during the 90s... Shankar also came during this period.. Roja and bombay were during this time.. Iruvar could have been a flop but to my view is one amoung MR's best... Rahman came during the 90s and so did many MDs... In the 90s cinema has become more commercial....gone are those days where audiences want to see movies like thaneer thaneer , achamillai achamillai etc... Ppl want to make quick money and cinema was their best bet....... how many heros & heroines have we seen in the last 10 years... Was it the same in the 80's? In one way we get to see good talents but there are a few who exploit it.......prabhu deva and lawrence... do they deserve to be heros ? the quality of the movies have gone down... I watch tamil movies by renting dvd's online.. I'm left with an option of watching the old movies rather than watching new movies like punnagai desam and thamizh....... the cinema industry itself is to blame for its debacle... we have 100 new directors, 25 new music directors and 25 new actors every year and only a handful survive....... if this goes on, telugu and kannada industry will overtake tamil film industry......
  
  
• From: Unmai (@ 24.130.233.129) on: Fri Aug 9 16:27:32 EDT 2002
  
  I guess actresses are very poor these days. Nobody speaks in their own voice. Following is the list of actresses who have dubbing voices
  
  1)Simran - dubbing voice Savitha
  2)Jothika - Savitha
  3)Laila - Savitha
  4)Priyanka Chopra - Savitha
  ...
  
  Actually savitha should get more accolades than these actresses.
  
  Actors.. 90s actors Ajith, Vijay, Surya(worst actor tamil movie has ever seen), Prasanth,.. none of them gave any landmark movies. Apart from Vikram nobody is capable of delivering. Prabhu Deva, Lawrence.. and so many actors are useless these days. The perfect example is.. in U.S not even Rajini gets as much claps as when vivek comes. That explains a lot about the standard of actors. I do not see any talent these days as you mention.
  
  Thiru.. i agree nowadays it has become commercial.
  Ironically this is the period when movies don't run well. 80s movies ran well.
  
  I disagree with you on your say about no hero and heroines were launched in 80s..
  I try to give some,, Karthik, Prabhu, Revathy, Radha, Ambika, Sathyaraj, Vijayakanth, Murali, Mohan, Poornima Jayaram, Suhasini, all launched their illustrious careers in 80s. They gave atleast one memorable performance in their career.
  
  Still a strong story and screenplay can be very successful. Fazil prove it with Kadhalukku Mariyathai. It is just that it doesn't get into the heads of stupid producers.
  
  
• From: Shottu (@ 64.243.188.81) on: Fri Aug 9 16:30:27 EDT 2002
  
  "But of course the piracy thing was not here :)"
  
  Who told u that piracy things are not there in hollywood! May be u guys don't know abt it! Atleast in india the pirated movies coming in VCD may not be in good quality. You will get it only after say a week or so...You still have to pay for the VCD. But here in hollywood, the pirated ones are crystal clear in quality. They are available in the internet for free!!! I saw "beautiful mind" even before the movie was released!(It was flicked from the premier show!!!). You will be surprised to believe that it is a pirated one...I have the original DVD of beautiful mind now and i compared it with the pirated one, i downloaded from internet. I feel the pirated one is better!
  
  Very recently i was able to download the much awaited movie "Signs". I saw the movie like two weeks before it was released! Can you believe it? Likewise u name the movie, i can download it immediately! But still hollywood is not crying! Hollywodd movie makers are not begging the people to come to the theaters and watch the movie! Y??? IT's because the holywood has a big audience! Big video rights money! They make some quality movies, which compels common people to come to the theaters. The kollywood movie makers should realise that they in no way can match up with the hollywood!!! I feel like laughing the hell out of me when some kuppusamy and munusamy saying that tamil movies are better than english movies! We have to accept the fact that hollywood is better in every sense! They are more professional in their approach...They are more dedicated and they do a neat job.
  
  (Please don't try to bring patriotism in this picture. I do have lotsa patriotic feeling and i love india!!!)
  
  

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