With nearly 100 feature films, web films and series under production, the Telugu film industry is looking at some very busy months ahead. But it might soon have a problem of plenty
The Telugu film industry can pride itself on being the busiest entertainment industry in India at the moment. Unofficial estimates suggest that approximately 98 to 100 feature films, web films and series are currently under production in Hyderabad.
Multiple factors have fuelled this surge in production — the appetite for digital content that the home-bound audience showed during the pandemic, resumption of feature film shootings that were stalled during the lockdown, and new feature films that were discussed then.
The second wave
- With the second wave of COVID-19 cases, production units are considering stepping up the frequency of tests. Frequent tests were a norm when film units resumed work in September-October 2020. Eventually, units let down their guard, like everyone else in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Says a Mumbai-based actor who worked in a recent Telugu film, “Mumbai units get themselves tested each week. Most Telugu film units aren’t testing enough. Not many people have been wearing masks either. That needs to change.”
For the big screen
When the Telangana Government announced the re-opening of cinema halls in December 2020 with 50% occupancy, the industry watched anxiously to see if the audience would return to collective film viewing.
The opening weekend of the Sai Dharam Tej starrer Solo Brathuke So Better was an indication that all was not lost for theatrical viewing. According to the Telugu Film Producers Council, 78 films have released in theatres since January 2021, and a handful of them have been success stories — namely Krack, the Telugu dubbed version of Master, Uppena, Zombie Reddy, Naandhi, Jathi Ratnalu and Rang De.
Kriti Shetty and Vaisshnav Tej in ‘Uppena
Uppena, which released in February soon after 100% occupancy was permitted, reportedly garnered over ₹100 crores while Jathi Rathnalu, produced at around ₹5 crores, has gone on to collect over ₹35 crore worldwide, and made director KV Anudeep and actors Naveen Polishetty, Priyadarshi and Rahul Ramakrishna, stars. As the audience lapped up the laughter therapy amid a prolonged pandemic, the producers laughed all the way to the bank.
However, for every Uppena and Jathi Ratnalu, there are a dozen other films that have failed to pass muster. “Unless the story and narration are really good, people aren’t going to the theatres,” says writer-producer-director Sai Rajesh.
April and May will see the theatrical release of films headlined by A-list stars, beginning with Nagarjuna-starrer Wild Dog followed by Vakeel Saab starring Pawan Kalyan. Tuck Jagadish, Love Story and Virata Parvam are among other biggies lined up in April.
Post the reopening of theatres, films that were expected to have direct OTT release, like Wild Dog, re-negotiated their digital deals to allow for a reasonable theatrical window before they are made available online. While January releases like Krack made their way to OTT within days, more recent hits are enjoying a longer gap between the theatrical and OTT release.
The rush for OTT
Naveen Polishetty and Faria Abdullah in ‘Jathi Ratnalu’
Among the feature films under production, many are big and medium budget films, announced before lockdown. In addition, many others have jumped into the fray, hoping that one of the OTT platforms will lap up their projects.
But there is a change in scenario, explains producer Venkat Siddareddy: “Films like Raja Vaaru Rani Gaaru, Palasa 1978 and IIT Krishnamurthy were not box office hits but attracted viewers on Amazon Prime Video. Normally, big films are procured by digital platforms much earlier, sometimes even when a project is announced. For smaller films, they preferred a ‘pay per view’ or profit-sharing model where the producer gets a pre-decided amount per view. Aspiring filmmakers felt encouraged by this trend and mooted new projects. Meanwhile, digital platforms have tightened their rules and are keen to pick up films that have had a theatrical release.”
The spurt in production has led to job opportunities across the board. But how many will ultimately be able to bring their projects to the audience? “There are new writers who finish a screenplay in a week or two. Some of these projects explore genre-specific stories — gory thrillers, psychological dramas, horror, and so on. The Telugu film industry leads in quantity, we cannot say the same about the quality of content,” adds Siddareddy.
For the Telugu web space
In recent months, a few Telugu web shows and films made their way to MX Player, Hungama and other channels, apart from the more popular players such as Zee5, Aha, Amazon Prime Video and Netflix.
Aha is the recent entrant to the digital space, backed by leading film producer Allu Aravind and his Geetha Arts production house. Being a complete Telugu platform, Aha grew in popularity in 2020, making inroads into tier-2 and tier-3 cities.
In addition to acquiring old Telugu films, Aha stepped up its original content production — web films and series. The web series 11th Hour, directed by Praveen Sattaru and starring Tamannaah Bhatia, will stream on April 9. Aha is reportedly in talks with other leading Telugu film production houses for new web series that are likely to star popular names such as Kajal Aggarwal, Regina Cassandra and Eesha Rebba.
“Many of the productions now on floors are thanks to Aha,” say Sai Rajesh and Siddareddy. While there are projects approved by Aha, many others are also hoping to get noticed by the platform.
Sai Rajesh, whose co-production Colour Photo had a direct digital release on Aha and was among the most talked-about Telugu films in 2020, has a note of caution: “I know of a few productions that thought they could go the Colour Photo way, unaware of the way the industry works. Some believed that if they make a project with a shoestring budget of a crore, they are likely to get at least ₹50 to ₹60 lakh when it’s picked up by an OTT platform. But digital platforms don’t take up all the films or series that come their way.”
Once the frenzy settles, it might be a problem of plenty, with smaller projects struggling to see daylight. But, for now, with nearly 100 productions on floors, it is crunch time for everyone involved, with a soaring demand for filming equipment and caravans.
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