COVID-19 Lockdown Has Caused The Kannada Film Industry To Face Its Biggest Crisis Ever
Film Industries around the world have come to a complete halt due to the COVID-19 outbreak. In the same vein, our Sandalwood is also facing its own set of challenges amid the pandemic crisis. A leadin
Film
Industries
around
the
world
have
come
to
a
complete
halt
due
to
the
COVID-19
outbreak.
In
the
same
vein,
our
Sandalwood
is
also
facing
its
own
set
of
challenges
amid
the
pandemic
crisis.
A
leading
distributor
revealed
that
even
after
the
lockdown’s
end
when
the
situation
goes
back
to
normal,
it
will
still
be
very
difficult
for
the
Kannada
film
industry
to
recover
its
investments.
One
must
keep
in
mind
that,
unlike
other
industries,
the
Kannada
filmdom
is
heavily
reliant
on
theatrical
revenue
to
make
a
profit.
It
is
still
growing
in
terms
of
OTT
presence
and
has
just
started
making
its
mark
on
various
digital
media.
Meanwhile,
the
release
calendar
and
shoot
schedule
of
various
biggies
that
have
huge
money
riding
on
them
have
gone
completely
awry.
It’s
being
said
that
around
100
films
currently
under
production
in
various
stages
have
been
severely
hit
by
the
lockdown.
This
includes
Puneeth
Rajkumar’s
Yuvarathnaa,
Sudeep’s
Kotigobba
3,
and
Darshan’s
Roberrt
and
Raja
Veera
Madakari
Nayaka
to
name
a
few.
Top
producer
Rockline
Venkatesh
told
PTI
that
the
industry
is
losing
crores
of
rupees
each
day
due
to
the
lockdown.
He
then
went
on
to
forecast
that
it
would
take
at
least
a
year
and
a
half
for
the
industry
to
be
back
on
its
feet.
"That
too
if
the
government
does
hand-holding
but
if
the
industry
faces
a
bad
hit
in
terms
of
income
tax
and
GST
and
other
taxation,
80-90
per
cent
of
the
industry
will
face
closure," he
added.
On
the
other
hand,
the
Secretary
of
Karnataka
Cine
Artistes' Association
revealed
that
the
other
threat
being
faced
by
content
creators
is
preventing
their
unreleased
work
from
'piracy
and
leaks.’
An
industry
insider
also
stated,
"People
don't
have
money.
We
will
know
the
impact
when
things
become
normal.
Questions
many
ask
if
people
will
return
to
cinema
halls
like
the
way
they
did
before
or
they
prefer
to
stay
away
from
crowd."
(sic)