Malayalam masala, Telugu tadka

Mona

Regional cinema of our country has left internationally acclaimed filmmaker Shekhar Kapur ‘stunned’. “What an eye opener it has been chairing the National Film Awards 2018,” tweeted famed director and jury chairperson of the 65th National Film Awards. He added, “It’s world class. For Hindi cinema no longer can compete with the quality we saw from other languages. Unfortunately, mainstream media and Bollywood enjoy a highly incestuous relationship. So the brilliance of the new regional cinema remains hidden from audiences. It’s time for that to change.”

Since the beginning of 2018, regional cinema has given stiff competition to its Hindi and English counterparts in Chandigarh too. A Punjabi film placed next to not a big ticket English or Hindi movie has fetched more viewers. And that too, more than once! 

Tricity isn’t partial to Punjabi films alone. It also has viewers for Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Bengali cinema. There might just be a show a day, and only in two of the biggest malls that the Tricity boasts of — Elante and VR Punjab — but it serves as a valued link for folks from different parts of the country who call Chandigarh home.

Big pull

Telugu star Nani’s films get a huge response in his hometown, Hyderabad. But Chandigarh isn’t oblivious to his box-office pull. This actor-producer’s releases make it to the city and why not, it’s one way to live their language and life back home for Andhra and Telangana folks here.

Sujata PV Ratnamurthi came to City Beautiful two weeks back and it was only on Friday that she felt at home. She attributes this feeling to a show of Krishnarjuna Yudham.  For Sujata, who hails from Kurnool district, it was a family outing and she sure is glad to have found Telugu cinema in Chandigarh, where she is rather new. Guru Charan, employed with PGIMER, finds regional cinema a connect to home, which he has left behind to pursue his career dreams. 

Show time

Interestingly, it’s just not southern superstars aka Rajinikanth or Mahesh Babu, who have marked their attendance in Tricity cinemas, or a mere ‘Baahubali’ that’s been a huge success, but regular films too. While the major audience is the distinctive community for a show from their own region, the response is good enough to dedicate at least one show a day.

“It sure is nice to watch films in one’s own language,” shares Chetan M, from Visakhapatnam, currently doing internship in the city. A film buff, equally fond of Hindi, English and Telugu cinema, Chetan loves to watch films in his native tongue.  Krishnarjuna Yudham has left him far from impressed. But some mediocre movies hardly ever killed anyone, right? And, like-minded company is a joy to behold. Naresh, also from Vizag and on same internship programme as Chetan, started his weekend with a Telugu film and he couldn’t be happier.

Culture connect

For Johnson P, every Malayalam movie is a must because his son Justin loves them. “When Elante opened, Malayalam movies were regularly screened, but not now,” he rues. In an effort to make sure children are in touch with their culture, films work just fine. Interestingly, some of Johnson’s friends play comic characters in films and what he enjoys best is clapping for them! His last in cinema was Mohanlal’s Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol. In city from 1993, he’s been running a news agency. “One does miss home. Being in the hall with family and friends reliving the native scenario, it’s like reconnecting with the roots,” he says.

“Unlike Delhi and Mumbai, we don’t have many Malayalam shows here in Chandigarh,” says Sanat B. The last cinema experience he loved was Drishyam, which starred, in his words, ‘Big B of Malayalam cinema, Mohanlal’. “Films work as a window to the world left behind.” 

Comfort factor

It’s Prabhu Deva’s magic that pulled Sangeetha to watch silent thriller Mercury. A banker, accompanied by her daughter, she is a Tamilian, but brought up in Karnataka, and a huge Prabhu Deva fan who hails from that state. “I have grown up watching his films, and cinema in our language is very comforting. We often come with family to enjoy Tamil movies.”

“Tamil gets the best response in the city, many a times the shows are houseful,” shares Raj Juneja, representative for distributors in the region. “While Bengali hasn’t fared too well, the rest — Telugu, Tamil, and Malayalam — fetch good footfall,” he adds.

mona@tribunemail.com