Rajaratha, Poomaram and Kirrak Party: Is campus drama the next big thing?

Campus drama seems the flavour of the moment with the release of Kalidasan Jayaram’s Malyalam film Poomaram, Nikhil Sidharth’s Telugu movie Kirrak Party and this week’s release, Kannada film Rajaratha. Poomaram, Kirrak Party and Rajaratha are three different stories, but all set in the backdrop of a college.

Poomaram

The film is about a youth fest that brings together students from different colleges and focuses on artistic performances, colours and realistic documentation of what really happens at these fests. The film has been appreciated for its theme and how it captures every art form. It is the film’s theme that has found favour with the audience.

Kirrak party

Nikhil Sidharth’s Kirrak Party is a remake of Kannada hit Kirik Party, starring Rakshit Shetty, and doesn’t stray too far from the original. A love story set in a college campus, it is about a boy falling in love and getting depressed after heartbreak. Yet again, the film’s story found an instant connect with millennials. It is not too dramatic or fanciful.

Rajaratha

Directed by Anup Bhandari and starring Nirup Bhandari and Avantika Shetty in the lead, Rajaratha may not be set entirely on the campus but that’s where the story begins. Unlike Kirrak party and Poomaram, Rajaratha is commercial and massy as it heralds actor Arya’s entry in Kannada cinema.

Rajaratha has received a good word of mouth and the weekend shows in Karnataka will see a rise in the occupancy, according to the trade. Poomaram and Kirrak Party has also done decent business at the box office so far. Will the success of these three films urge filmmakers to make more campus drama?

Author tweets @Priyanka_S_MCC
Follow @htshowbiz for more