Telugu Cinema has been from ages trying to find enough strength at box office to let each and every movie become a hit. No matter who is directing, who is producing and who is acting in it.
People don't give opportunities to each and everyone. They decide on their own about whom they think is deserving of their love. Some tend to connect with audiences better than others. They tend to connect with them despite their shortcomings and some end up trying harder. Some find easy ways and get desperate.
In this vicious circle of being accepted, finding box office love - few people lose their individuality and few lose their credibility as well. At the end of it all, those who have won the battle by surviving through hurdles and did the long rope, try to explain what worked for them and end their careers on that high. Some fall so badly that they don't realise what had hit them.
Still filmmaking is seen as an easy business and many try their hands at it. In the end, all you need is a good story that people can connect with. But when filmmaking becomes an industry and it becomes means of survival for hundreds of people, then it needs to find a way for improving success rates and see that every person who imagines to tell a story and has some worth in it, to survive.
Not everyone can bring in crores of moolah and that will not help an industry to survive with occasional tremors of excellence while continued failure laughs at you in your face.
Small budget films are hence important for the industry as they are constant that keeps the wheel going while big budget films add fuel to the tank to help the industrial train run faster and faster to new destinations at speed.
If small budget films find it hard to survive then big budget films can't let industy survive and hence, you will see audiences losing their interest in those biggies too.
Gamanam, Lakshya, Skylab couldn't even get a decent opening while Akhanda did great business. Akhanda kind of big films should recover and work. At the same time, Skylab should have been able to survive at multiplexes. Surely movie will find more audiences on OTT platforms.
But OTT platforms want to minimize their losses and expenditures. Hence, they are asking films to be released in theatres and then looking at audiences reaction to them, they are able to arm twist producers to accept to their terms and conditions.
Even big budget film producers are happy to let OTT platforms stream their films in 3-4 weeks of release. This is because, the front loading system in Theatrical window has become more profitable than wait and see.
Pandemic added to the difficulties like piracy, audiences general loss of interest, overflow of content, emergence of OTT platforms with new content creators that established theatrical system is facing. Now, the releases have to be big and publicity has to be huge as well.
If Skylab kind of a film released in normal circumstances few years ago, it would have gotten enough breathing space in towns with multiplex audiences trying to give it a go. With Pandemic forcing big films to come out in clusters, Pushpa, RRR, RadheShyam, Bheemlanayak, Bangarraju, Acharya, F3 kind of big budget, popular star cast films are releasing in a cluster in the space of few weeks between them.
This will force audiences to wait and choose. Their first choice will be RRR kind of a movie and even Shyam Singha Roy with Nani, Sai Pallavi and Kreethy Shetty will not try to fight against it.
Going forward, these big films will again cause for audiences to choose for waiting till April or May period when other big star films will release. This means small budget films can only prevail with direct OTT debuts.
Andhra Pradesh Government's guidelines have added to the difficulties again. With ticket costs so low, theatres won't take risks with films that don't even guarantee 50-60% housefull occupancies even on weekdays. Films like Skylab can only put up 80-90% during weekends and in remote areas, they will not even get 30% during prime shows.
This is sad reality and a regulation that helps everyone is must. But the current system has to change for better one. Until we find that universal solution, can small budget films survive? Will producers find it profitable to start with 2 cr - 3 cr films or will they just invest in big budget 200 crores films as 1% or 2% or 20% partners going forward and make small budget content for TV, OTT platforms? What do you think future holds for us? What would be the right way going forward? Can Small Budget Films Survive Going Forward?
People don't give opportunities to each and everyone. They decide on their own about whom they think is deserving of their love. Some tend to connect with audiences better than others. They tend to connect with them despite their shortcomings and some end up trying harder. Some find easy ways and get desperate.
In this vicious circle of being accepted, finding box office love - few people lose their individuality and few lose their credibility as well. At the end of it all, those who have won the battle by surviving through hurdles and did the long rope, try to explain what worked for them and end their careers on that high. Some fall so badly that they don't realise what had hit them.
Still filmmaking is seen as an easy business and many try their hands at it. In the end, all you need is a good story that people can connect with. But when filmmaking becomes an industry and it becomes means of survival for hundreds of people, then it needs to find a way for improving success rates and see that every person who imagines to tell a story and has some worth in it, to survive.
Not everyone can bring in crores of moolah and that will not help an industry to survive with occasional tremors of excellence while continued failure laughs at you in your face.
Small budget films are hence important for the industry as they are constant that keeps the wheel going while big budget films add fuel to the tank to help the industrial train run faster and faster to new destinations at speed.
If small budget films find it hard to survive then big budget films can't let industy survive and hence, you will see audiences losing their interest in those biggies too.
Gamanam, Lakshya, Skylab couldn't even get a decent opening while Akhanda did great business. Akhanda kind of big films should recover and work. At the same time, Skylab should have been able to survive at multiplexes. Surely movie will find more audiences on OTT platforms.
But OTT platforms want to minimize their losses and expenditures. Hence, they are asking films to be released in theatres and then looking at audiences reaction to them, they are able to arm twist producers to accept to their terms and conditions.
Even big budget film producers are happy to let OTT platforms stream their films in 3-4 weeks of release. This is because, the front loading system in Theatrical window has become more profitable than wait and see.
Pandemic added to the difficulties like piracy, audiences general loss of interest, overflow of content, emergence of OTT platforms with new content creators that established theatrical system is facing. Now, the releases have to be big and publicity has to be huge as well.
If Skylab kind of a film released in normal circumstances few years ago, it would have gotten enough breathing space in towns with multiplex audiences trying to give it a go. With Pandemic forcing big films to come out in clusters, Pushpa, RRR, RadheShyam, Bheemlanayak, Bangarraju, Acharya, F3 kind of big budget, popular star cast films are releasing in a cluster in the space of few weeks between them.
This will force audiences to wait and choose. Their first choice will be RRR kind of a movie and even Shyam Singha Roy with Nani, Sai Pallavi and Kreethy Shetty will not try to fight against it.
Going forward, these big films will again cause for audiences to choose for waiting till April or May period when other big star films will release. This means small budget films can only prevail with direct OTT debuts.
Andhra Pradesh Government's guidelines have added to the difficulties again. With ticket costs so low, theatres won't take risks with films that don't even guarantee 50-60% housefull occupancies even on weekdays. Films like Skylab can only put up 80-90% during weekends and in remote areas, they will not even get 30% during prime shows.
This is sad reality and a regulation that helps everyone is must. But the current system has to change for better one. Until we find that universal solution, can small budget films survive? Will producers find it profitable to start with 2 cr - 3 cr films or will they just invest in big budget 200 crores films as 1% or 2% or 20% partners going forward and make small budget content for TV, OTT platforms? What do you think future holds for us? What would be the right way going forward? Can Small Budget Films Survive Going Forward?