The recent fracas over the removal of the director’s and cinematographer’s name from the posters of Padmashree Bharat Dr Saroj Kumar by the producer Vysakh Rajan alleging a loss of Rs 75 lakh has snowballed into a big debate.
What caught the ire of Vysakh was the reported non- appearance of the director on the sets and the interference of the cinematographer in the film, which led to delays in shooting thereby causing budget overshoots.
Mollywood is witnessing a spurt of bold new-age producers, who speak their minds and are more aware of the dynamics of all aspects of filmmaking and are not mere moneybags.
Lucsam Sadanandan is a name associated with the biggest hit of 2011 — Salt N’ Pepper and is now the producer of the remake Nidra directed by Siddharth Bharathan. Nidra created a record of sorts by becoming a film that was made at 20 per cent below its initial budget.
Sadanandan says, “Being a producer, I have come across budget overshoots but have decided that if am not satisfied with a particular person, I won’t do another project with that person. As producers, that is our right, as it is our blood and toil that go into making a movie!
Nidra is a case in point, where careful and astute budgeting has reduced the costs because of control from our production team. If a producer remains vigilant and reaps profits that can mean more movies in the market and no producer is here to do only one film.’’
It is not only successful but also new producers entering the field, who firmly stick to their stance regarding budgets, production costs and schedule days.
Sandhra Thomas is a young producer who is all set for her first film outing with Friday starring Fahad Fazil and Ann Augustine.
She says, “New gen directors are also looking at young producers who can match their wavelength and are easy to communicate and get along with. I make sure that I hear the script and commit to a film only if it excites me, in addition to having two or three sittings with the director to understand his calibre. After a film releases, it is not right to blame the director or any other technician for any lapse because a producer’s role is to keep a keen eye on budgetary requirements.’’
Sandhra says that re-invention takes show business forward but the business angle is also paramount and she makes sure that every single rupee is accounted for.
Listin Stephen, producer of the path-breaking Chappa Kurishu and Traffic, says, “If I am aware of the budgetary framework, then I will lose less money. It is akin to buying a lottery ticket for Rs 10 or Rs 100. The loss is proportional to the amount invested but occasionally one ends up hitting the jackpot. Basically if a producer is on site and keeps an eye on production details, less money will go down the drain.’’
The dawn of the new producers is here!
