The Telugu film industry faced some problems last year due to Telangana and Samaikyandhra agitations, coming to this year, the filmmakers simply haven’t come up with good movies, costing the industry Rs 100 crore in just three months.
What’s more shocking is the failure of nearly 50 movies that released since January this year. Except one or two, all the others remained as flops. Single screen theatres remain the worst hit as they rely solely on Telugu films for revenue. If this trend continues, insiders claim that several enterprises may shut shop altogether.
“A few theatres have closed in rural areas like Miryalaguda and many are not in a position to pay even the salaries of their employees. The big producers are not making movies and the films that are releasing are not good,” says Vijayender Reddy, president of Telangana Film Chamber of Commerce.
Mahesh Babu’s 1, with a budget of nearly Rs 70 crore, bombed at the box-office and Ram Charan’s Yevadu got less profit with malayalam version. Only film, Bheemavaram Bullodu did well at boxoffice.
Till a few years ago, there were more than 3,500 single screen theatres in AP but now that number has come down to a paltry 1,800. “If this situation remains, more theatres will face a shutdown,” says Vijayender Reddy.
So what’s the primary reason for this slump? “We are just not giving good content and have been unable to produce good films,” says Suresh Babu, producer, exhibitor and distributor. He adds that the budgets are increasing and the top 15 actors in the industry are not doing many films either.
“This is indeed one of the worst times for Tollywood in recent years. I don’t think it will improve in the coming days as I don’t see any big releases in the near future except for a few. It’s going to be losses upon losses for the producers and theatre owners. There are many new multiplexes coming in the Andhra region and they are going to face serious problems with this situation,” adds Suresh Babu. “Also, we can’t take the excuse of bandhs and strikes any more. The only thing we can do is to stop complaining and make good films with controlled budgets,” he suggests.
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