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Kannada film producer K Manju calls out trend of ‘fake filling’ movie halls

Hiring people to fill a theatre to show fast-filling/sold out status is not a healthy business practice, reckons K Manju, whose Vishnupriya is up for release shortly

Kannada film producer K Manju calls out trend of ‘fake filling’ movie halls
Producer K Manju will release his son Shreyas' Vishnupriya on February 21

Last Updated: 05.47 PM, Feb 04, 2025

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Kannada filmmaker K Manju has never been one to mince his words, so it was not surprising that he chose to bring up a topic that he thinks is unhealthy for the industry. Manju, who is gearing up to release his son Shreyas K Manju’s film Vishnupriya on February 21, recently spoke about an issue plaguing the Kannada film industry.

Shreyas Manju and Priya Varrier in a still from Vishnupriya
Shreyas Manju and Priya Varrier in a still from Vishnupriya

Fake filling theatres is not good business: K Manju

“Sandalwood is already struggling with the lack of business from satellite and digital channels. Add to that, a new trend that some film teams have been adopting to feign excitement around their movies. These days, there are brokers (marketing teams), who hire college students, buy them biryani and then fill up theatres with tickets pre-bought by the film team. This is not business. People have to come to theatres out of their own volition and interest to get entertained. I would never ever fake fill a movie hall,” says the veteran producer, speaking to TV9 Kannada.

Manju also says that from a time when about 100-120 films were made in a year, the Kannada industry sees at least twice that number now, which, may not necessarily be a good sign. “But for the films of say 5-6 popular artistes, nothing else works at the box office. Most do not admit this and claim success,” he says, adding that it’s the case with many new producers, for whom cinema is not their primary bread and butter and, who then channel revenue from their other businesses into this to fake success.

Priya Varrier and Shreyas Manju in Vishnupriya
Priya Varrier and Shreyas Manju in Vishnupriya

That Kannada films face massive competition from other language films is also a major issue, he says, adding that apart from, say, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi original movies that release in Karnataka, many of these are then dubbed into multiple versions and brought to theatres. A movie like Pushpa 2, for instance, will release in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi versions in the state, which takes up a large chunk of the movie halls. Manju reckons that if all of this continues, the survival of the Kannada film industry will be a big question mark in the foreseeable future.

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