In the last couple of years, corporate houses have virtually taken over Bollywood, signing big stars on mouth-watering package deals catapulting Hindi film
production into a new zone. Telugu Movie News
Later, they gravitated towards Kollywood and made a couple of star-studded films
. However, in Tollywood, barring Mahesh Babu, corporate giants haven’t really been able to rope in happening stars. For quite some time, corporate bosses had been in talks with A-line actors here but seemed to have failed to clinch deals on paper. Pray, why is that so?
Actor Nagarjuna confirmed to Hyd Times that he has been approached by corporate houses. “I’ve had a few rounds of discussions with a leading corporate house but nothing came of it,” said the actor, but he doesn’t completely rule out that option. “I am willing to sign a film for a corporate house but only on my terms,” he says emphatically.
A few years ago, Mahesh Babu took the initiative and signed a three-film deal with a Mumbai-based corporate house. Their much-hyped film Athidi was launched with much fanfare and released to great openings but bombed. Now the company will be completing their deal by doing two more films — reportedly one with Mahesh in the lead and another one without Mahesh, in due course of time. Telugu Actress Photos
According to a corporate house honcho, the main reason for them not being able to clinch a deal is because “Telugu stars are demanding unreasonable pay packets. Even top actresses and directors have jacked up their remunerations to make the scenario worse. In this time of recession, we need to sign deals that would be beneficial to both the parties,” he says.
Unmindful of recession, another Mumbai-based house has started shooting Saleem with Vishnu and Ileana in the lead. The company is producing films in nine Indian languages. “In all the languages, we are promoting films with a good storyline,” says Mahesh Ramanathan, COO, of the company.
On not being able to lure in Tollywood stars for package deals, he says, “Unlike others, we haven’t signed Bollywood stars on package deals, so why should we change our policy for Tollywood?” Despite sounding old-fashioned, he believes that “story remains the star of a film” and accordingly, his production house will back “novel themes”.
Summing up the scenario, actor Venkatesh claims that he would make films with corporate houses, provided they promote ‘good cinema’ and are not here for making a fast buck. “If these corporate houses have only business interests in mind, then I would prefer a regular producer with whom I share a perfect wavelength,” he reasons. All said and done, he is willing to offer them dates ‘immediately’ if they come with an ‘exciting’ script.
Likewise, filmmaker Puri Jagannath, also discloses his apprehensions. “The corporates insist on a bound script and we are supposed to stick to it. Since I love to improvise even on the sets, I would prefer a regular producer,” he says.
With apprehensions on both sides, looks like it will still take some time for corporate house to penetrate Tollywood.
Saleem Movie Stills
Telugu Actress Hot Photos
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