On the façade, cinema is magic and Edenic but things are not idyllic inside says producer and actor Maniyanpilla Raju, who believes cinema to be a world full of risks. If asked to gauge the rate of riskiness, Raju would give a full 100%.

Maniyanpilla Raju:

“Director Priyadarshan once asked me if I could produce a movie. Priyan had a good subject and we decided to pool money for the movie. We all decided to put Rs 25,000 each. ‘Hello, My Dear Wrong Number’ movie was thus born. The movie was made with a modest budget of Rs 2.15 lakh. In theatres, the movie didn’t work out as we planned. That time, the movie ended up as a flop and we lost our money.

However, after nearly three years, television channels came to the fore and demanded the movie. We were paid each Rs 50,000. If we look at it that way, the movie ended up as a profit. ‘Vellanakalude Nadu’ was filmed with a budget of Rs 18 lakhs. Today, if you have to produce a movie with a small-time artist, the budget would be anywhere near Rs 7 crore. Even for one day’s shoot, the rate could go beyond Rupees six lakhs.

Cinema is thus a tough gamble. You can end up bankrupt with just one movie. At the end of the day, whatever happens, you should have the guts to fight and not commit suicide witnessing the fortunes going south.”