Prem Kumar Calls for Regulation Against Paid Film Reviewers in Tamil Cinema

4 months ago | 5 Views

At the seventh Indian Screenwriters Conference, held by the Screenwriters Association, Prem Kumar, the director of heartwarming movies like 96 and Meiyazhagan, addressed the South Directors Roundtable. Also in attendance were Telugu director Vivek Athreya, Kannada director Hemanth Rao, and Malayalam director Christo Tomy. Prem discussed the reasons why he thinks "paid reviewers" are hurting Kollywood.

Prem Kumar on the factors that are hurting Kollywood

Prem spoke honestly about how 'negative reviews' during the first week of a film's release are hurting Kollywood. “Negative reviews have become a big problem in Tamil cinema. It's a huge problem, and it's getting worse day by day, week after week,” he stated. "We used to have reviewers. The breed that we have now is not reviewers; their target is different. It's very uncivilized, in the language they use, the way they talk, and what they target," he replied when asked if he was referring to negative word-of-mouth or something else.

Prem Kumar said Tamil cinema is facing problem wth negative reviews

These reviewers, according to the director, purportedly aim for the first week of a movie's sales in the hopes that they will provide favorable feedback in exchange for funding for their next picture. "They have an agenda, and they go after the income from the first week. After that, you can be sure that the producers will contact you about their next film. Over 90% of reviewers are currently compensated. A film cannot be reviewed by the honest critics because they lack the skills or resources. People's choice of whether or not to see a movie is heavily influenced by this, so it has a significant impact on the box office. I hope producers will establish some rules for this," Prem said.

Concerning Prem Kumar

Prior to making his debut as a director with the 2018 Vijay Sethupathi and Trisha Krishnan-starring 96, Prem worked as a cinematographer on movies such as Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom (2012) and Yeidhavan (2017). The picture was a big hit and became well-known in other languages as well. The 2020 Telugu remake of the movie, named Jaanu and starring Sharwanand and Samantha Ruth Prabhu in the main roles, was also directed by him. Meiyazhagan, which he produced in 2024 with Arvind Swami and Karthi, also got favorable reviews. The follow-up to 96 will be directed by him shortly.

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