Galatta Plus Mega Tamil Roundtable 2023 witnessed some of the biggest and most talented names in Tamil cinema for a heart-to-heart conversation about the love for films, with National Award-winning film critic Baradwaj Rangan, the Editor-in-Chief of Galatta Plus, playing host. Among the names who shared their views on the current state of Tamil cinema were esteemed filmmakers Mani Ratnam, Vetri Maaran, Sudha Kongara, Mari Selvaraj, Madonne Ashwin, and P.S. Vinothraj, who also drew their own experiences from each of their films. In that light, Vetri Maaran explained his point of view on whether only big hero films can generate a big box office gross in response to Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan, 'Superstar' Rajinikanth's Jailer, 'Thalapathy' Vijay's Leo and Varisu, and Ajith Kumar's Thunivu, while also referencing his own Viduthalai and filmmaker Pradeep Ranganathan's Love Today.
During the discussion at the Galatta Plus Mega Tamil Roundtable 2023, Vetri Maaran said, "After COVID, getting people to the theatres is not an easy thing. If I must come to the theatre, I need to have the urge to take a risk. And, it comes down to why I must take a risk. I feel the initial opening... For a big star, all theatres, shows, and screens are opened up for them. But, I personally feel that post-COVID, the initial pull is based on your film's trailer, teaser, or whatever it is. Even for big heroes' films, if the trailer doesn't work, the response on the first day and first show is lesser. Then, slowly, the word of mouth might increase and improve it. But, when the stars come... like Mani sir was the star of Ponniyin Selvan... A star is needed in such circumstances. Only a star-driven film will make audiences want to come to theatres. It has even become a business strategy." He added, "All the theatres are screening big star films in the belief that the audiences will come in. It is enough if they come for the first 10-15 days and then you're set. It's doing big numbers. And, that kind of money being generated within the industry is good for the industry. How much good it is doing for the artistic aspect of films is a secondary thing. But, overall, I think it's good because more money means better salaries."
Vetri Maaran further explained, "Now, I'm talking about Viduthalai because I was a part of the film. Many people said Viduthalai was a good film and many people watched it. But, if you take a superstar film, and I'm referring to all the big stars, the amount it collects in a day or two is Viduthalai's total collection. But, whatever this stands, it's a hit. So, these kind of films also do well. If we're talking about big numbers, it's only possible in films with big heroes and a big investment. If you're investing 10 crores in a film, why should we expect 100 crores? Why can't we be happy with 15 crores or 18 crores? When you're putting in 200 crores, then you expect 300 or 400 crores. But, if we think that our films are not making those numbers on a 10-crore budget, we need not make those collections." He continued, "There are some exceptional films that connect with the audiences like Love Today. They said that it made around 7-8 times the investment. That is a rare exception. We need not take that into consideration. You invest 10, see if you're getting 15 or 20, we're happy. And, anything more than that, we're going to take it. We're not going to say NO. But, I feel this margin is good enough."
Watch Vetri Maaran share his views at the Galatta Plus Mega Tamil Roundtable 2023 in the video below:
