Mangaluru : Tulu playwright, film producer, and director Vijaya Kumar Kodialbail said here on Friday that Tulu film makers should focus on producing films having good stories.

Addressing a workshop on film making at Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy, he said that the Tulu film industry now was concentrating only on comedies.

“It is now following the ‘sidda sutra of hasya’ (readymade comedy framework),” he said. But it was possible to make a film based on a strong story in a reasonable budget.

Stating that Tulu films were in their golden era, Mr. Kodialbail said that releasing 10 films this year alone itself had proved it.

Mr. Kodialbail, whose ‘Oriyardori Asal’ released in 2011 became a trend setter and boosted Tulu cinema, said that Tulu film industry now needed good directors as there were many producers.

He said that he could make ‘Oriyardori Asal’ only after eight attempts.

Giriraj B, a Kannada cinema director, hoped that quality cinema in Tulu would be a reality. According to him, only Marathi and Tamil industries were producing cinemas having a feel for the local language and culture now. Tulu had enough potential to produce such movies, he said.

He suggested that film makers should not venture into making films only for earning money.

Kishore D. Shetty, Tulu film maker and playwright, said that five movies were released in the past two months, and of them only one became a success.

Actor Shivdhwaj said that the entertainment industry was growing with the help of digital technology. Many Tulu film makers lacked information on the use of technology. Conducting a workshop on different aspects of film making helped all those involved in Tulu cinema industry.

M. Janaki Brahmavar, president, Karnataka Tulu Sahitya Academy, and B. Chandrahasa Rai, Registrar of the academy were present.