Tamil YouTubers Gopi and Sudhakar, popular and much loved for their Parithabangal videos on the channel that goes by the same name have now set a new record, this time with crowdfunding. The duo collected a whopping Rs 50 lakh in just a day after beginning their campaign, with the figure rising to Rs 75 lakh in 3 days. Almost a week after the campaign was initiated, the figure stands at Rs 1,17,82,155 with over 19,000 backers!
A brisk scroll through their crowdfunding page shows thousands of backers sending whatever they can, some even Rs 10!
Speaking to TNM, Sudhakar refrains from sharing more information but says, “We will be making announcements on the film’s title and cast soon after the campaign ends.”
In an interview to Galatta Tamil, the project’s director SA Karthik, who goes by the moniker SAK, says, “A lot of them have done crowdfunding in the past. Previously Kannada film Lucia had collected Rs 50 lakhs in 10 days, and it was the highest collection for a film in south India. But ours has collected the same amount in just a day.”
The film, a fantasy comedy starring Gopi and Sudhakar, will be made on a total budget of Rs 8 crore. The team says this money will be used in its entirety from making to marketing the film.
The team has also announced that the film’s producers aka the backers will also receive a share in the profits after the release.
In a video that was posted on their Youtube channel on March 16, 2019, SAK, Gopi and Sudhakar explain the reason behind the crowdfunding, of venturing into the big screen with lots of “enthusiasm and determination to entertain the masses”.
It is interesting to note that Gopi and Sudhakar, who also go by the name Go-Su, collected Rs 30 lakhs from their followers as part of Gaja relief last year through a crowdfunded campaign.