Shibu Isaac’s National Award-winning Thenmerukku Paruvakattru, directed by Seenu Ramasamy, simply disappeared from major theatres after the first week.
“This was done to facilitate the screening of a film from a producer who has money as well as muscle power,” says Shibu. Indeed, if Vettrimaaran and Seenu are the faces of success, there are also scores of aspiring young directors who are struggling for opportunities in the changing Tamil film industry.
A cartel of politicians and big business houses rule the Tamil cinema industry, say the young Turks. “It is difficult for a first-time director with a different script to find a producer. But for the producer, to get his film released in the theatre is a much bigger headache,” says a young producer who doesn’t want to be named.
As a matter of fact, the all-powerful Karunanidhi clan practically own the industry. Sun Pictures belongs to Kalanidhi Maran, Red Giant Movies to Udayanidhi Stalin, and Cloud Nine Films to Daya Alagiri, and these three have become the exclusive dream merchants of Tamil Nadu. What makes them different from other film production houses is their family.
Kalanidhi is the elder brother of Dayanidhi Maran, union minister for Textiles, and the two brothers are grand nephews of the DMK patriarch Karunanidhi. Udayanidhi and Daya are the grandsons of Karunanidhi.
While Udayanidhi is the son of MK Stalin, Daya is the son of Azhagiri. Between them, they control the Sun Group, India’s largest satellite TV and radio network. The Marans also own Dinakaran, a popular Tamil daily, and a number of Tamil magazines. Tamil Nadu’s biggest cable TV network, Sumangali Cable Vision, is also owned by the Maran brothers.
Karunanidhi has tried his best to push his sons into the world of movies. It was to finish off MGR that he sponsored MK Muthu, his son from his first wife, Padmavathy. “But Muthu was a total flop. Even the attempt by Stalin to get a foothold in the film industry was a fiasco,” says Sundar Das.
Udayanidhi, who first tried his luck in film production, has decided to stay put in the industry. “We’ll soon be seeing himas a hero in Oru Kal Oru Kannadi. Hansika Motwani is the heroine,” says Das.
Obviously, no producer and no director could survive without the support of the Sun Group.
“If they decide to black you out, that’s the end of you and your film. So we have to obey their commands. Their writ runs in the entire film industry,” says producer Shibu Isaac.
He knows exactly what he’s talking about, for his National Award-winning film vanished from the multiplexes within a week of its release. “Even the cinema theatres are under their control,” admits Sundar Das, adding that it is difficult to establish the ownership of most of these theatres because of cross-holdings.
While Shibu is blunt in pointing out the control exerted by the previous DMK government, others are not that bold. “The last five years, I was a Karunanidhi Daasan (slave of Karunanidhi). I had to toe the lines of the then ruling family,” a super star is reported to have told S Venkitaraman, an advocate practicing in Madras high court.
But bureaucrat-turned-columnist, Navamony Murugan, refutes allegations about the Marans’ monopoly in the film industry. “Kalanidhi knows how to sell movies and artists. He has seven Tamil TV channels at his disposal, and a number of 24-hour FM radio stations. That’s why even young producers and directors approach him,” he says, adding quickly that Udayanidhi and Daya Alagiri can never match the calibre of Kalanidhi.
Bagavath Singh, 35, an aspiring filmmaker, recounts his encounters with prospective investors. “There is no white money in the Tamil film business. Most of the productions happen through the hawala route. And the producers want only stars like Vijay, Surya, Dhanush, Vikram and Vishal. They want me to write a script to suit the likes and dislikes of these stars.”
There have been instances of directors and actors complaining about “stern warnings” issued by the K-clan. “Why did [Tamil superstar] Vijay declare his support for the AIADMK and Jayalalithaa just before the election? He was a victim of Udayanidhi Stalin’s machinations. Besides, the DMK leaders got furious when he was given an audience with Rahul Gandhi,” says Bhagwal.
A top functionary of the South Indian Film Chamber of Commerce (SIFCC) said that for the past five years, the Tamil film industry was under a kind of mafia rule. “Everything, starting from production, direction, casting and exhibition were as per the instructions issued from the chief minister’s office. These people bought over the industry with their ill-gotten wealth. Why am I insisting that you don’t quote my name? It’s because I don’t want my family to find my dead body in some dumping yard. That’s the reach of the K-clan,” says the SIFCC man.
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