'IPL success worries Tamil showbiz'

The four consecutive victories of the Chennai IPL cricket team has left filmmakers in Tamil Nadu fuming because it has resulted in a loss in their box office collections.

The four consecutive victories of the Chennai Indian Premier League cricket team has filmmakers in Tamil Nadu fuming because it has resulted in their box office collections dropping, says distributor Kalaipuli G Shekharan.
"Success in the cricket field has resulted in thin crowd at the theatres translating into losses for distributors and exhibitors," Shekharan told IANS.

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"There are hardly 30 people in cinemas for the evening and night shows making people like me wonder whether the business of movie distribution is worth pursuing," said Shekharan.

He is presently distributing four films in the biggest movie territory in Tamil Nadu comprising Chennai, Kanchipuram and Tiruvallur districts.

"The April-May period is usually our peak season since educational institutions are closed and fans visit cinemas in droves. But this year, due to the IPL T20 matches, virtually nobody is turning up at the theatres," Shekharan complained.

"While multiplexes are hedging their bets with different genres of films, the cups of woe at single-screen cinemas are full as even the costs of electricity consumed during evening and night shows cannot be covered. As a result, several producers are thinking of deferring their releases," informed Shekharan.

The movies affected by IPL matches include Santosh Subramaniam featuring Jeeva - the collections of the film dropped 85 per cent ; Yaaradi Nee Mohini - this Dhanush starrer is a hit but its collections fell by 90 per cent; Arai En 305il Kadavul - the film, which has Prakash Raj in the lead, is the worst affected since its collections never went beyond 40 per cent since release; and Iyakkam" - starring newcomers, the film sank without a trace.