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Kannada's film industry is unanimous over one thing: Other-language films should not jeopardize Sandalwood's collections

Vijaya Kumar K V, the distributor of Telugu film Magadheera, has been suspended by the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) for violating rules. His crime? To increase the number of theatres in the second week itself. In the third week, he had earned three times his investment in Karnataka Rs 4.5 crore.

Still from Magadheera

So, what's Sandalwood's reaction to the scandal?

Rockline Venkatesh: If Kannada films are being released at the same time as other-language movies, there will be a problem in our industry. Though other-language films are allowed in only 21 screens in the state, they end up being shown in more than 30 to 40 screens. In the case of Magadheera, they started making extra prints in the second week itself, which they were not supposed to do, and increased the number of screens. We are not against other regional languages but they have to follow norms. There is support for Telugu and Tamil films across the world but for Kannada films, there's viewership only in the state and that too, a 30 per cent.

 "When it comes to quality of films in languages like Tamil and Telugu, only a few films out of over a hundred make good money. And other distributors bring only films with superstars here. If they release bad films too, people will know that other-language films are also not worth watching." 

Agni Sridhar: "I want to ask where these people were when Ghajani and Shivaji were released. Why did they let it go then? This is happening because Vijay Kumar is not a strong person. If this continues, people will start suspecting the association's  motives. In Chennai, 60 per cent of the people are Telugu-speaking, so why do they not allow Telugu films to be released there. The same should happen here too. Kannada films should get top priority and there should be some relaxation in rules. No one should be given the chance to violate rules."

Yograj Bhat, producer: "I was not in town and don't know the latest developments. But the association's suggestion that non-Kannada films be screened in the state only after seven weeks of their release in their respective states is a right move. This is necessary to save the Kannada film industry.  Also, big-budget Kannada films can be made but people should come forward to invest without fear."

Girish Karnad: "I am not in the industry and I didn't know that producers  protested."

Girish Kasaravalli: In our Constitution, we have some policies and rules and we can't go against them. It is not that other-language films like Hindi, Tamil and Telugu cannot be released here but they shouldn't end up affecting our films. All regional films should be released everywhere but Kannada films should get some priority in the state. Industries in other states invest crores for a movie but that is their capacity, we can't comment on it. For example, other-language films like Gujarati and Orissa are dying."