Hero-director-writer clique sinking Telugu film industry?

HYDERABAD: The Telugu film industry is in a crisis. It has fallen into an abyss and, as things stand now, it will be near impossible for it to come out of it. Reason: the hero-director-writer clique is calling the shots and has stripped the producer of his legitimate position in the film industry. The affect of it was there to see in 2014. Of the approximate Rs 1000 crore investments, the industry would have got back only 40 per cent returns.
Out of the nearly 200 films that were produced in 2014, the success rate was a mere 8 to 10 per cent. “That is a cause for concern. There are reasons why it is happening. The producer is being treated like a cashier. All that he has to do is give money and, stay away from every aspect of filmmaking,” said Mohan Vadlapatla, producers’ sector chairman, A P Film Chamber of Commerce.
Mohan, who is also the joint secretary of Telugu Film Producers Council (TFPC), said if the film industry has to flourish, the producer has to be brought back to the centre-stage. “The producer is the owner of the ship. He should have the liberty to even fire the captain (i.e director) of the ship. If a film is not steered back to safety, it will hit the iceberg. The one who will sink is the producer himself,” Vadlapatla said. Most films just managed to scrape through and top stars also disappointed at the box-office. Producers are now finding it an uphill task to raise money. “Earlier, if a producer got the dates of big heroes, financiers would come forward to pump in money. But today, financiers are unwilling to take a chance. Producers are being asked to deposit property papers as guarantee,” said producer K Ashok Kumar, who is the treasurer of AP Film Chamber of Commerce. With stars showing preference to work with certain directors, it is the latter who are calling the shots. The directors even hire technicians and artistes and decide on their payments. All that the producer has to do is supply money and play the role of spectator. It is learnt that some writers and technicians are charging up to Rs one crore per film.
“We are in a mess because of the high production costs and low quality films,” said V C Harinath Reddy, an exhibitor from Pileru in Chittoor district. “There is only 20 per cent occupancy in theatres. Also, there were 2,700 theatres in AP and Telangana until a few years ago. Now there are only 1,600 as it is not profitable to be in cinema business anymore,” he said. Harinath Reddy who is executive member from the exhibitors sector in the A P Film Chamber of Commerce has several decades of experience in the film industry.