PremiumCrazy Star Ravichandran: Audiences are not hung up about star-led films; only looking for good cinema
Veteran actor-filmmaker V Ravichandran was speaking at the 25-day celebration of the Kannada film Bhuvanam Gaganam, when he addressed the issue of falling footfalls
V Ravichandran
Last Updated: 10.46 PM, Mar 18, 2025
When Kannada cinema’s Crazy Star V Ravichandran graced the 25-day celebration of the film Bhuvanam Gaganam, his question to everyone gathered there was about how many Kannada movies they’d seen since the start of the year. Given that most had not seen more than 10 in a year that has already had 70-80 films in theatres in only the first three months, he said there was no point blaming audiences for not watching Kannada films.
V Ravichanran: Audiences are not hung up about seeing particular faces; they just want good cinema
The reason that Ravichandran chose to attend the event was that he’d get to see a bunch of happy faces at a time when the Kannada film industry has little to even smile about. He reiterated the oft said statement that audiences always support good cinema and added that films like Bhuvanam Gaganam are testimony to that. “If a film is good, audiences will come to theatres. They are not particular about seeing a particular actor; they just want good content. My film Premaloka is the biggest example for this. We kept pushing it until it got to 100-days and it was only then that it picked up organically and became a super hit,” he said.
The problem right now, reckons Ravichandran, is that filmmakers are creating a “traffic jam” at the box office. “If 10 of our films keep releasing week-on-week. How do you expect audiences to support 40 films in a month?” asked the Crazy Star, adding that the argument that people are watching other language films also not hold water, as only a select few hits get released in Karnataka. All of the films from those industries don’t come here; if that were the case, the situation would have been even worse, he says.
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Since only the ‘better’ films from, say Malayalam, Tamil or Telugu release here and do well, people began taking notice that other language films are working at the box office in Karnataka, while Kannada movies don’t find audiences.