The first half of 2012 (January - June) has been disappointing with increasing percentage of flop films and only a few getting back their investments. Around 50 films were released between January - June 2012 and two more were added recently - 'Dandupalya' and 'Hai Krishna'.
Out of the 50 films released, only five could earn a decent return. The first blockbuster success between January to June 2012 was 'Anna Bond'. A straight subject with power star Puneeth Rajkumar in the lead under Suri’s direction, the commercial film did not have an intense story but was technically well made. The film made on a budget of Rs 4 crores have grossed approximately Rs 8 crores. The satellite rights was already purchased for a whooping Rs 3.5 crores.
The next in line was 'Chingari', which was made with a budget of Rs 7 crores. The plus point for 'Chingari' was Challenging Star Darshan’s previous film, 'Sarathee' which was a super hit and the crowd thronged for a repeat success. The film did not make a huge profit, but the producer seems to have got back his investment. The film is yet to sell the satellite rights to small screen. The other successful films are 'Bheema Theeradali' and 'Katari Veera Suradundarangi', though both the films ran into controversies before and after its release. Super Star Upendra’s film, 'Katari Veera Surasundarangi' has approximately made Rs 7.5 crore with the film still running in theatres. Producer Munirathna had invested around Rs 9 crore for the film. The film would have done better if it had not got muddled with too many issues. The film has earned Rs 3 crores from satellite rights. 'Bheema...' starring Duniya Vijay was made at a Rs 4 crore budget and has more or less got back the investment. Komal has become the current star attraction with his film 'Govindaya Namaha' giving a surprise hit. The film produced by Suresh was made with Rs 1.5 crore has grossed approximately Rs 5.5 crores profit. This is the only film still running packed houses and successfully running towards 100 days. The story and its narration was fresh to audience and adding spice to it was hero Komal and the superhit song, 'Pyarge Hagbutiyate'.
'Addhuri' which released in the month of June made a whooping profit in the first week. Dhruv Sarja and director Arjun did all the magic. 'Jaanu', a youth oriented film directed by Preetham Gubbi with Yash in the lead was packaged with good songs, fights and a romantic theme, but the film did not attract much response. The producer had invested Rs 4 crores and has got back only Rs 2 crores.
'Dandupalya', which was released yesterday might score on realism. The theme, screenplay, camera work and characters have already created a buzz. Films which got average response were 'Shyloo' and 'Lucky', which completed 50 days though could not earn profit. But the most expected film which miserably failed at the box office was 'Aaraksha' starring Upendra. The film was directed by P Vasu, whose previous film, 'Aaptharaksha' was a superduper hit. The investment for the film was Rs 4 crores but got back only Rs.80 lakhs.
Next was S Narayan’s 'Munjaane'. The director was so disappointed that he took a decision not to make any more films. But he’s back after much pressure. The other most expected film was Diganth’s 'Dev - Son of Mudde Gowda'. Known as star director, Indrajit’s film miserably tanked at the box office and the worst part was the film did not run for even one week. Among the actors, Puneeth Rajkumar still rules the roost with power packed performance in every film.
Sandalwood Queen Ramya maintains the number one slot though her much hyped film, Lucky, produced by Radhika Kumaraswamy did not do well at the box office. Though films didn’t do well, there were no dearth of controversies in the first half of 2012 - from Pooja’s bareback in 'Dandupalya' to story stealing issues of Katari Veera... and Bheema Theeradali going to the chamber and the court level. Subsidy issue was also a major discussion with few members in the committee having taken money to give subsidy rights. Though Govindaya... did succeeded at the box office, the producer and hero Komal, who is also a distributor did not get along well. For the second half, there are couple of films which have created a strong buzz. These include Shivarajkumar’s Shiva and Andar Bahar, Upendra’s Kalpana and Topiwala, Golden Star Ganesh’s Romeo and Prem’s Adda, which has run into a title controversy. Darshan’s Sangolli Rayanna, made with a huge budget, is also being eagerly awaited.
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