You scratch my back, I scratch yours. This seems to be the philosophy going around in the Telugu film industry. Informal meetings between producers, power lunches between leading stars and an understanding between distributors – it’s all one big happy family in Tollywood.
It all started with superstar Mahesh Babu postponing his family entertainer Srimanthudu by a month, to make way for SS Rajamouli’s magnum opus Baahubali: The Beginning.
While Mahesh was criticised for ‘being scared of Baahubali’, the actor categorically dismissed all such notions and said that it’s important for each film to have ample space to thrive.
“Baahubali is such a huge film and it is the pride of the Telugu film industry. We are not scared of competing with Baahubali but we think it’s healthy to have a gap of two to three weeks between two big releases. This way, there is an opportunity for both films to do well,” Mahesh told Hyderabad Express after Srimanthudu was postponed. As it turns out, both films turned out to be huge blockbusters, triggering a trend of unexpected unity among Tollywood’s film fraternity.
Ever since, several films have been postponed due to make way for other big releases. Krish Jagarlamudi’s Kanche, which was initially set to release on October 2, was postponed by a month to make way for big releases like Rudhramadevi and Bruce Lee. Kanche was later advanced to a Dasara release on October 22 after VV Vinayak’s Akhil got postponed.
Even leading actors including Allu Arjun, Ram Charan, Nani, Rakul Preet, Manchu Lakshmi and several others met up at Rana Daggubati’s house for a power lunch to discuss the issue of release dates.
Most recently three top producers – KK Radha Mohan, PVP cinemas and MVV Sathyanarayana – had an informal meeting regarding the release of their films Bengal Tiger, Size Zero and Shankarabharanam. The three producers came to an amicable understanding and it was decided that the three films will release in successive weeks with Size Zero on November 27, Shankarabharanam on December 4 and Bengal Tiger on December 11.
Even the legendary Kamal Haasan decided to postpone his recent thriller Cheekati Rajyam to accommodate Akhil Akkineni’s debut film Akhil. Even though the film’s Tamil version Thoongavanam hit screens on November 8, Cheekati Rajyam was postponed to November 20 to ensure Akhil has a smooth run at the box office.
“The makers of Akhil had approached us regarding this and we decided to oblige. We are all part of one industry and among ourselves, we need to be understanding and accommodating,” Kamal Haasan said.
It’s one not just in terms of release dates that our film fraternity is showing a refreshing sense of brotherhood, but also in terms promoting films of fellow peers.
After actor Nagarjuna confessed that he was jealous of Baahubali and wished he could be a part of it, actor Ram Charan praised fresh concepts coming up in Telugu films and urged directors to come up with innovative ideas going forward.
“If you notice, films like Bhale Bhale Magaadivoy and Cinema Choopista Maava were very well-made and had some great humour in it. I would love to see more such movies coming forward,” Charan expressed.
Stars have also launched audio, teasers and trailers for their colleagues in the industry as a show of support. Mahesh Babu made an appearance at the audio launch of Akhil, while the teaser for upcoming Nikhil Siddharth-starrer Shankabharanam was launched by none other than Tollywood’s Powerstar Pawan Kalyan.
“Currently there is a situation where there are a lot of producers but very few actors. Every actor is busy with two to three projects at the same time, so it makes sense to promote each other’s films. In fact, the fact that Powerstar Pawan Kalyan launched the teaser of Shankarabharanam made a huge difference to us as it gave the film tremendous exposure,” said Nikhil.
The actor, whose delivered hits like Swamy Ra Ra and Karthikeya, also believes planning out release dates is a step in the right direction.
“Earlier there would be a situation where you will see two to three big films releasing on the same day and then there would be a month without any release at all. Instead of creating such an imbalance, we’re trying to release one big film every week, which is good for the audience and good for the industry,” the actor added.
Tollywood stars believe that it’s not just down south but actors across the country are supporting each other’s films.
“It’s a very healthy trend that we’re currently observing in the film industry and it’s a wonderful atmosphere to work in. It’s not just Tollywood, even in Hindi we are seeing Shahrukh Khan dubsmashing for Prem Ratan Dhan Paayo and Salman Khan promoting Dilwale. I think people have realised that promoting another film will not have an impact on your own film and each of us have enough space to focus on our work, while encouraging others,” summed up actress Rakul Preet Singh.