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As 2024 comes to an end, the Tamil film industry finds itself at a crossroads, uncertain whether to bid farewell to the year with a smile or a frown. While the first half was relatively uneventful, the latter months saw the release of several mammoth films, many of which earned big bucks at the box office. However, despite massive earnings, most of these films faced widespread criticism — often becoming the subject of memes after debuting on OTT platforms. And now, the latest addition to this list, already occupied by “Thalapathy” Vijay’s The Greatest of All Time (GOAT), Rajinikanth’s Vettaiyan and Kamal Haasan’s Indian 2, is director Siva’s Kanguva, starring Suriya.
Although it arrived amidst much anticipation, the epic fantasy action film, mounted on a reported budget of Rs 350 crore, met with criticism from all quarters and has managed to gross only Rs 89 crore globally in seven days. Nevertheless, it has secured a place among the top 10 highest-grossing Tamil films of the year, a fate that director S Shankar’s highly panned Indian 2, starring Kamal Haasan, also faced.
As the movie continues its downward journey, the Tamil Film Active Producers Association (TFAPA) has attributed its struggles, not to the film’s quality but, to YouTube reviews conducted outside theatres. The association has called for a ban on such reviews, claiming they negatively impact box office revenue, Mathrubhumi reported.
In a statement issued in Tamil, TFAPA described online reviews as “tasteless and hostile.” “Our association strongly condemns the recent trend of personal attacks and incitement of hostility under the guise of film reviews,” the association was quoted as saying in its statement.
It urged reviewers to focus exclusively on the film’s content, steering clear of personal remarks about producers, directors or actors. The association also took issue with public reviews conducted immediately after premieres and first-day-first-shows (FDFS), accusing some YouTubers of using sensationalist headlines to draw attention.
“No one reviews a restaurant by declaring their life has been ruined by one bad meal. If such extreme comments were made, those restaurants would take strong action,” the statement argued, advocating for a more balanced and responsible approach to criticism. “Critics have the full right to express their views, but this must not translate into spreading hatred on public platforms,” the letter concluded.
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