Is Telugu Film Industry Aka 'Tollywood' Shifting Base?

With big ticket films choosing other cities for their audio launches, and filmmakers frequenting new places in AP for their shoots, Hyderabad’s status as the film capital is challenged.

Not too long ago, if it was a Telugu film audio launch, it had to be in Hyderabad. But now, it seems like the trend is changing. By the end of March, Nagarjuna and Nayanthara will be flying to Vizag for the audio launch of their film Greeku Veerudu and a little before them, on March 21, the beach city will see a ‘son rise’ with producer Yelamanchili Saibabu launching the audio of his son Revanth’s debut film Intinta Annamayya, directed by none other than K Raghavendra Rao himself. Meanwhile, another big ticket film — Ravi Teja’s Balupu — has its song release event scheduled in April first week in Vijayawada. 
    
Talk to industry folks about the Telugu Film Industry opting for newer destinations for their filmi functions and shoots and most of them say that the recent twin blasts at Dilsukhnagar have adversely impacted Tollywood. Post the blasts, many filmmakers are finding it difficult to get police permission to host their events in the city due to security issues. The audio release of NTR’s Baadshah was scheduled for March 10, but the event was postponed to March 17, due to security reasons. Similarly, the song release function of actor Venkatesh’s Shadow was given an okay by the city police for the 15th of this month, but the permission was given only after the filmmakers agreed to not make public announcements of their event, install CCTV cameras at all corners, hire more than 200 security guards and hand over the CCTV footage to the police at the end of the event. 
    
Now, with so many conditions to meet, it comes as no surprise that filmmakers are opting for easier ‘destination venues’. Director Madhura Sridhar, who recently completed the shoot of his upcoming film in Vizag, says, “After the recent bomb blasts, it has become a risky affair to shoot in Hyderabad. However, filmmakers have multiple reasons for choosing newer and better locales and venues. A safer place to go about with the film publicity is definitely one of the reasons. But then, Vizag is a beautiful place and has the potential to become the hub of the film industry.” 
    
According to industry folks, filmmakers have begun to patronise Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada as these cities have more multiplexes now and the audience here prefer watching Telugu films, unlike in Hyderabad where Hindi films eat into the Tollywood pie. Also, the ongoing Telangana agitation which has a tendency to flare up at short notice, has forced some of the bigwigs in Tollywood to find more peaceful locales. 
    
In the recent past films like Arya 2, Adurs and Cameraman Ganga Tho Rambabu suffered huge losses in the Nizam area as they were targeted by pro-Telangana activists. 
    
While that’s the state of affairs in the city, Thammareddy Bharadwaj, president, Andhra Pradesh Film Chamber of Commerce, has a different point of view. He says, “Yes, these issues are there, but the other reason for filmmakers seeking new venues for their events is because they want good mileage for their films throughout the state. In my childhood, Vijayawada was the hub for filmmakers, now it has shifted to Hyderabad. But just because filmmakers are frequenting cities other than Hyderabad, it does not mean they are shifting base. Even a lot of Bollywood stars visit the city for their film promotions. So, can we say that they are shifting base here?” 
    
In the same vein, Vijayender Reddy, president of the Telangana Film Chamber of Commerce, says, “It is true that earlier some films were stalled because of the stars’ connection with certain political parties, but now all that has cleared and even films of these stars are being screened in the Telangana region. However, fact is that the Telangana region contributes to approximately 40% of the total boxoffice collections. So, isn’t it a natural outcome that filmmakers promote their films more in areas where they have a stronger base?”