Exclusive! Theatres, OTT platforms show no interest in festival films, says Koli Taal director Abhilash Shetty

There’s something about filmmakers from the Western Ghats belt of Karnataka and their penchant for making realistic cinema that does wonders in the festival circuit. Take, for instance, Natesh Hegde, whose Pedro has been wildly successful, as well as Abhilash Shetty’s Koli Taal. Both films are currently in contention at the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, but only Abhilash’s film will be available for viewing this weekend.

“I wanted to list Koli Taal for the Bengaluru International Film Festival, but the Mumbai guys insisted on the film getting its Indian premiere there. In the hope of it being a physical festival, I withdrew Koli Taal from Biffes, but then MAMI went online. And by then it was too late to go back to Biffes,” says Abhilash, adding that the film can be streamed from the official MAMI site between March 4 and 6 free of cost.

Kannada cinema, unfortunately, does not rank high up among Indian films, says Abhilash, adding that it is partly to do with the fact that people here are glorifying their bad movies. “The only advantage now is that the industry is not centred in Bengaluru’s Gandhinagar circles. There are smaller sub-sections in different parts of the state, where meaningful cinema is being made. For instance, the only time I came to Bengaluru with Koli Taal was to get it censored, pretty much everything else related to it, from writing, shooting to editing and other post-production activities were done in Sagara, near Shivamogga. It would not be wrong to say that there is a separate film industry based out of the Western Ghat region of Karnataka, which is focusing on presenting realistic stories in the most natural settings, amid all the greenery and beauty of the area. There are a lot of aspiring filmmakers from this region who are already making their mark with short films, and hopefully, soon enough they will be able to transition to features as well. Once that happens, I firmly believe that the future of Kannada cinema will be a lot brighter,” says Abhilash.

Sadly, though, the reach of festival films remains limited. “Forget theatres, even OTT platforms are not showing interest in films that have been in the festival circuit, irrespective of the accolades won. Their primary focus continues to be star-driven projects, even if the content is not up to the mark. Audience mentality is also such that they will not watch content-rich cinema in theatres; there they want a ‘paisa-vasool commercial entertainer’. Films like mine should head to an OTT platform after the festival run, even if they don’t take it as an exclusive deal, at least if they can give us a pay-per-view option is also fine. What is happening right now is that there are national award winning Kannada films, which end up on a hard disk after the festival run, as they don’t get a theatrical, or, an OTT release. I want to make sure that my film does not have that fate. The objective of making a film is for people to see it. Over the last year and half, Koli Taal had a fantastic film festival journey. It is currently competing in the India Spotlight section of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival, which will be the last fest it is being screened at,” says Abhilash.

The plan now, he adds, is to get the film into theatres, even if it is only at a few screens and restricted to a certain area. “I don’t mind if Koli Taal only releases in Udupi, Mangaluru, Manipal and Shivamogga. Thereafter it should make its way to OTT; we are currently in talks with Mubi to get the film on their platform. Although it has a higher subscription plan, Mubi has great reach in the international market,” says the filmmaker.

Koli Taal, meanwhile, is an 85-minute feature that Abhilash wrote and then made in only 15 days, based on his personal experiences of visiting his grandparents in Sagara during his school days. “Back when I was in school, I would visit my grandparents during holidays and they'd always keep one rooster ready for my visits to make my favourite chicken dish. The film also follows a similar story where a couple rear a rooster, to be served up to their grandson, only to have it go missing," explains Abhilash. 

Koli Taal will be available to watch online on the official site of MAMI Mumbai Film Festival on March 4 and 5. Registration is free.