Tamil film industry braces for ₹500 crore loss this summer
Live MintNEW DELHI: The Tamil film industry is staring at a loss of ₹500 crore this summer as a result of four blockbusters being postponed due to the covid-19 lockdown. With the release of superstar Vijay’s action thriller Master, Surya’s Soorarai Pottru, Dhanush’s Jagame Thandiram and Jayaram Ravi’s Bhoomi deferred, the Tamil movie industry or Kollywood as it is more popularly known, will have the driest summer in years, losing out on the lucrative pre-Ramzan period before the month of fasting begins in full force. “We were really looking forward to the summer season this year as it tends to contribute nearly 30% of the overall business,” said Rakesh Gowthaman, managing director of Vettri Theatres in Chennai, adding that the first quarter of 2020 had been disappointing as Rajinikanth-starrer Darbar, for the big Pongal release in January, ended up as a colossal flop with collections of ₹250 crore when made on a budget of ₹200 crore. The lockdown followed a fairly tepid 2019 for the Tamil box office where star vehicles like Suriya’s NGK, Sivakarthikeyan’s Mr Local, Vishal’s Ayogya and Vijay Sethupathi’s Sindhubaadh, failed to draw crowds.