Tollywood shuts down production indefinitely amid falling revenues

Tollywood shuts down production indefinitely amid falling revenues. The Active Telugu Film Producers’ Guild’s call was endorsed by the Telugu film chamber of commerce on Sunday.

“We have taken a unanimous decision to stop the shootings of films for an indefinite period, till we find a solution plaguing the Telugu film industry. There will be no shootings not only of new films but also of the ongoing films on sets,” film producer and distributor Dil Raju said.

He said the film industry had plunged into crisis after the Covid-19 pandemic. “We will meet and discuss the issues and find a solution for all the problems. It is our unanimous decision,” Raju said.

The newly-elected president of the Telugu film chamber of commerce K Basi Reddy said nobody, including producers, directors, actors, distributors, and exhibitors, was happy with the developments in the industry. “Unless we find a suitable solution, the crisis will continue. That is why we decided to endorse the decision of the producer’s council to stop the shootings,” Reddy said.

The Telugu film industry is the third biggest film industry in the country, after Bollywood (Hindi films) and Kollywood (Tamil films) in the number of films produced. Tollywood produced 238 films in 2019, only 63 in 2020, and again 204 in 2021, with an average turnover of around ₹1000-1200 crore annually.

While the theatres were forced to shut down during the pandemic, leading to huge losses to the producers and distributors, the situation has not improved even after the pandemic, as the footfall in the theatres dropped drastically due to the shifting of audiences’ preferences to the OTT (over-the-top) platforms in last two years.

The abnormal increase in cinema ticket prices by theatres to cover up the losses faced by the industry during the pandemic and the exorbitant cost of refreshments in theatre canteens also added to the sharp decline in the theatre footfall. The audiences found it convenient to watch films on OTTs, even at a later date, as it turned out to be a cheaper option.

Though there was a suggestion that the film chamber should restrict the release of films on OTTs, however, there were no takers as the option works out to be remunerative for many producers. “Somehow, the audiences seem to have developed aversion towards watching films in theatres, after the advent of OTTs,” said popular Telugu film producer Ashwini Dutt.

Now, the only option before the producers is to see that the cost of film production is reduced. “Since 60% of production cost goes towards the remuneration to the actors, especially big heroes, the producers are now planning to request the actors to cut down the remuneration so that the industry will survive,” said a producer, who did not wish to be named.

Besides, the chamber will also take a call on reducing other costs, such as bringing down the ticket prices to affordable rates and reducing the virtual print fee (VPF) charges of the theatres.