Dhananjaya on production houses curbing reviews: Criticism is important

Kannada actor Dhananjaya opened up on production houses taking legal routes to tackle “malicious ratings and reviews.” In the last couple of months, banners behind marquee movies in the Kannada film industry have served legal notices to YouTube channels to ensure “fair reviews” and have restricted users of ticketing apps from rating the movie.

“Times have changed. Earlier, we knew a handful of film critics. Today, it’s difficult to keep track of the number of people reviewing movies. But there are two sides to this issue,” he told reporters on Friday (January 30, 2025).

“Today, it’s possible for somebody to create multiple YouTube Channels and spread negativity about a particular movie. It’s happening. Perhaps, that’s what is bothering the producers,” he said. “Having said that, irrespective of orchestrated negativity, if your content is good, audiences will talk about it, and the movie will go on to do well. Criticism is important, and I am never against it,” he added

Accepting failures

Dhananjaya said that the industry should stay away from celebrating failures. “We see people projecting failures as hits. It’s their way of building an image. However, this practice isn’t healthy for the industry. It’s better to accept your failures instead of finding excuses,” he said.

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Admitting that his previous production, Vidyapati, was a theatrical failure, the Tagaru actor said, “Sometimes, you think you have made something good, but it doesn’t get connected with the audience. However, fans should never feel that they have been cheated. Even if they can’t relate to a film, they must feel the honest attempt behind it. All films under my banner strive to achieve that.”