No more free content says Producers' Council: What will they come up with next?

After asking reviewers not to review films on the same day, Vishal might very well ask them to stop eating popcorn, too.
No more free content says Producers' Council: What will they come up with next?
No more free content says Producers' Council: What will they come up with next?
Written by:

Following his controversial request asking reviewers to hold off from doing reviews for three days after a film's release, Vishal has now come up with a new salvo.

The President of the Tamil Nadu Film Producers' Council (TFPC) has directed producers not to give free content such as songs, video clippings, letters, teasers and trailers among other things to television channels. The stated reason in the press note goes, “Let’s bring back our honour and value for our content.”

Even if TV channels are willing to pay for the film content produced by the big players, where will the smaller players go and how will they compete when it's not a level playing ground? Will this content then be made available only on social media (a space he doesn't believe is democratic either)?

Though Vishal's films haven't exactly set the box office on fire, he is currently the Secretary of the Nadigar Sangam and the President of the TFPC, making him one of the most powerful people in Kollywood. His victory in the Producers' Council elections was welcomed by many who were tired of the old guard's reign.

However, Vishal's spate of "requests" seem to be rather impractical. Earlier, when he and other actors like Trisha came under attack on Twitter during the jallikattu protests, Vishal said that the Nadigar Sangam would ask actors to get off social media and go through only conventional communication channels. That "request" didn't hold much water, with those who had deactivated their accounts during that time making a comeback.

His recent statement to Puthiya Thalaimurai channel in which he said the Council would decide on what action could be taken against reviewers who reviewed films on the same day was equally bewildering, and the outrage about it has still not died down. How exactly does the Producers' Council plan to prevent people from expressing their views about a film on a platform they don't control? And why should reviewers wait for three days so filmmakers can make their money?

While his campaign for the Producers' Council election was run on eliminating piracy (a losing battle not limited to Kollywood), reducing production costs and seeking subsidies, the actor's conservative approach is out of sync with reality.

Here are five "requests" the TFPC might very well come up with, going by the direction they seem to be taking:

1. Reviewers should wear rose-tinted glasses while watching films so they can truly "appreciate" it. It's difficult to dislike a film when everyone looks pink in it.

2. No food items should be allowed in the theatre because the honour of the content gets lost when you're busy estimating the calories in your caramel popcorn. Watch the same-old plot with as much masochism as you can muster.

3. Actors get off social media, producers get off social media, directors get off social media, audience get off social media. Social media bad. Unless you are RTing what we've put without adding any of your own, smartass comments.

4. Reviewers who write negative reviews should be made responsible for the hospital charges of hurt filmmakers. The "hurt filmmaker" deserves special protection because he made this especially bad film for YOU - even if you've been telling him to stop for years.

5. There should be a law that if a film is bad but a lot of people worked hard to make it that bad, the public should be compelled to watch it so the filmmakers recover costs.

Related Stories

No stories found.
The News Minute
www.thenewsminute.com