A promotional program of a TV mega serial started appearing on regular intervals on Asianet channel last week. Produced and presented in a novel fashion the promotion went straight into the minds of audience. Guess who presented the promotional? Super star Mohanlal!

There is nothing wrong in a producer presenting his program if he himself is a crowd puller. That's what precisely Mohanlal did. He had a co presenter. Actor-director Sreenivasan. Mohanlal lovingly invited the audience to watch the mega serial daily. This has created difference of opinions in film circles.

The serial 'Innale' is produced by Visual Magic a TV software company led by Mohanlal. The serial is aired from Monday to Friday 9 at night. A week before this promo appeared, the film trade organizations came out with a call to their members for a ban of mainstream film artists who either act or appears in TV programmes or stage shows.

They strongly believe that the TV channels are exploiting the glamour of film stars. Their charm is lost on regular appearances on TV. Films are no more is an attraction to the audience. Director K G George wrote that the stars really need maintain a distance from the public to keep luring the audience to the magic of films. The trade group consisting of producers, distributors and exhibitors affected by the proliferation of cinema based TV programs were on the receiving and following call for ban. The wording of their resolution created problem and they have subsequently issued clarifications.

They have cleared that their member producers have been asked earlier to avoid casting artists who appear in TV channels. It is not a ban. It is only a directive to their members. It is the right of a producer to choose the artist, fix his remuneration. Similarly a distributor can decide the film he wants to finance. The exhibitor can chose films of his choice. There may have objections to these regulations but one suggestion from their part has been widely appreciated.

It is their decision to promote films that cast new actors. They have decided not to run such films in the theaters for a minimum period of two weeks even if they show down trend in collection. The system of hold over where a film is compulsorily taken out of theatre however good, had driven producers out of the industry in the past. Eventually this new decision will encourage new artists. It can bring small budget producers to the field. More films may come in to circulation.