In the wake of the low-budget Tamil film ‘Salliyargal’ facing challenges in securing enough screens and the postponement of Vijay’s ‘Jana Nayagan’ due to delayed Censor Board clearance, top Tamil director Karthik Subbaraj has voiced his concerns. He has called for unity among industry members to save cinema.
Taking to his X timeline, Subbaraj shared his thoughts through a post titled “Some Thoughts Just as a Lover of CINEMA!!”.
Challenges Facing Tamil Cinema
He highlighted several critical issues currently affecting Tamil films. He noted, “No theatres for a low-budget Indie film #Salliyargal. Censor delay causing postponement of a big-budget film like Vijay sir’s #JanaNayagan, which was slated to release tomorrow. Bookings are still not open in many centers due to certification issues for another big film, #Parasakthi, set to release day after tomorrow… Tough times for cinema!!”
Subbaraj emphasized the need for theatres to support indie films more robustly. He stated, “Big satellite and OTT players are not keen to buy indie films, leaving theatres as the only source of revenue for low-budget films… Not giving theatres for these movies literally means killing cinema!!”
Censorship Pressures on Big Budget Films
The director also pointed out the difficulties big-budget films face with strict Censor timelines both in India and overseas. He remarked that these timelines create undue pressure during post-production, particularly for films with already announced release dates.
He explained, “With current timeline rules for both Indian and overseas censors, the ideal time for a film to be fully completed is three months before the release date, which is highly impossible for many reasons. This needs to be streamlined and made easier for filmmakers, producers, and stars. Otherwise, postponements of major films during festival times will ultimately harm the industry!”
A Call for Unity
In closing, Subbaraj issued a passionate appeal for unity within the film industry. He urged, “Please let’s all set aside fan wars, political reasons, personal agendas, and hate campaigns, and come together to do something positive to save the art… Save cinema.”