Dayal's Aa Karaala Ratri set to enter profit zone despite struggling to get screens

Finding screens for Kannada movies has always been a tough task for filmmakers in Sandalwood. Especially for the films without stars, producers have to struggle to get theatres in its own territory due to the popularity of other language movies. 

Now, yet another movie is facing difficulties to survive in theatres despite getting good response from the audience. Dayal Padmanabhan's Aa Karaala Ratri has entered its fourth week, but the movie has disappeared from almost all the centres.

Ask Aa Karaala Ratri director Dayal Padmanabhan about the development and he says, "I am not sure on what basis they (multiplex) allot the shows. This week, three notable movies have been released and each film has at least got 3-4 shows which was not the case with us. We were given only one show in the beginning and have to request the multiplexes to given at least one show after its second week. Audience have liked Aa Karaala Ratri, yet the movie is finding it difficult to survive. The occupancy rates for the show have been somewhere between 65-80 percent,"

The filmmaker is not sure whether he was being targeted for raising voice against multiplexes for exorbitant rates being charged for movie tickets. "I don't know whether there is politics involved here because I had a fight with them,"

Nonetheless, Dayal Padmanabhan is happy with the way people have received Jayaram Karthik and Anupama Gowda-starrer. "The movie has become hit mainly because of audience and media. Especially, the media has been written good about our film which played a major role in pulling audience to theatres," he claims.

The trade sources say that Aa Karaala Ratri is on the verge of entering profit zone. The movie, which is made with the budget of about Rs 1 crore, has grossed around Rs 80 lakh from theatrical collections.

From the sale of theatrical rights of the movie is expected to earn Rs 75-80 lakh. A leading channel has come forward to acquire the TV rights.

However, Dayal Padmanabhan feels that the movie has a potential to perform a lot better. "It would have done another Rs 50 lakh if there was encouragement from multiplexes for this content-oriented film," he ends.