Malayalam film industry has a steep hill to climb in the aftermath of Kerala floods

Things had taken an ugly turn in Kerala in August this year. The state was hit by one of the worst floods in the last 94 years. Daily life had come to a halt. A large number of people were displaced. Many lives were lost. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan estimated that economic losses would exceed $3.73 billion.

Among the many businesses that were affected by the floods, one was the Malayalam film industry. A money-spinner for the state, Mollywood has done strong business in the last few years. However, this year the film industry has a bigger challenge and that is to overcome the losses due to the floods.

Stalled projects, no new releases, scanty turnout at the theatres impacted the movie business at a time when it was on its path of progress.

In the last three years, the industry down south has given out many promising projects. In 2015, over 140 films were released by the Malayalam film industry, a 2016 KPMG report said. Two of the biggest blockbusters – Premam and Ennu Ninte Moideen – made in a budget of under Rs 5 crore and Rs 12 crore respectively, collected more than Rs 50 crore at the box office, courtesy their good content.

Oru Vadakkan Selfie earned Rs 20 crore from theatricals alone and was chosen to be remade in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Marathi, and Bengali. Overall, experimentation was the hallmark of the films released in 2015.

A KPMG report said that Malayalam movies performed exceptionally well in 2016 with the top ten moves garnering nearly double the revenue as compared to 2015 in the overseas market. This growth can be attributed to the higher number of movies released overseas and an increase in the number of screens on which they got released.

Out of the 160 movies released in India, nearly 40 movies were released overseas. For Malayalam movies, the Middle East contributes 75 percent to the net overseas revenue. The highest grossing movie at the domestic box office, Puli Murugan collected around Rs 36 crore in the overseas market.

2017 was also a successful year for Mollywood, however, the situation looks grim this year.

Before the floods hit the state, 2018 seemed to be quite a fruitful year for the Malayalam film industry, with over 85 films releasing in the first six months. It remains to be seen if the industry will bounce back and get into momentum in the aftermath of the floods.

The new wave of cinema that the Malayalam film industry offers has attracted cinephiles to Mollywood, especially in the last decade. Actors from Mollywood are becoming household names and the business is blooming.

Earlier stuck with stereotypical themes, the segment now focuses on real stories and subjects of social relevance. And these themes translate into good money.

But, this year Kerala has a bigger battle to fight. It’s been two months since the floods, yet there are a few places where the water has still not receded completely. This may prevent a lot of people from going to theatres to watch films.

Farmers, construction workers are yet to get back on their feet. They are a significant part of the movie-going audience in Kerala. Hence, the footfall in theatres remains on the lower side.

In an interview, Film Chamber General Secretary V C George told, media persons, “Overall Rs 300 million (Rs 30 crore) loss has been reported in the theatre area alone [sic].”

It would be a tall order for the Malayalam film industry to make up for these losses.