The Telugu film industry (popularly called Tollywood) is bleeding due to the spat over a separate Telangana statehood.
“We are losing Rs 7 crore a day on account of postponement of releases, rescheduling of shootings and logistics,” said K C Sekhar Babu, film producer and secretary, Andhra Pradesh Film Chamber of Commerce.
The industry, which churns out over 150 movies a year, lines up mega-budget movies from December to prepare for Sankranti (the festival of kites in January) to get cash registers ringing.
In the wake of pro-Telangana activists attacking theatres screening Arya-2, starring Allu Arjun, nephew of actor-turned-politician and Praja Rajyam Party chief Chiranjeevi, his son Ram Charan Teja’s Magadheera and actor-turned-producer Mohan Babu’s son Vishnu’s Saleem, most of the Andhra Pradesh Producers’ Council members on Wednesday postponed their releases for this month.
“The released movies are suffering 5-10 per cent loss in gross collection, while the yet-to-be-released films will lose in interest payments to financiers,” said film producer-director Tammareddy Bharadwaja.
Chiranjeevi and Mohan Babu, who have been at loggerheads for a long time, have joined the united Andhra movement, earning the wrath of the pro-Telangana activists.
“Saleem, made with a budget of Rs 23 crore and released on December 12, has seen significant drop in gross collections,” said Daggupati Suresh Babu of Suresh Movies.
Adurs, starring junior NTR, Leader with Daggupati Suresh Babu’s son Rana as the protagonist, and Nagarjuna’s Rummy are the other big films slated for release this month.
“The television industry has lost close to Rs 100 crore in the last 15-18 days. Though production has not stopped, no new projects are coming up as investors are worried,” said D Sridhar, chief executive officer of Hyderabad-based television producer TeleMedia.
