Tollywood’s Non-Stop Debate On Pan-India Content

When films like HanuMan, Mirai and Baahubali clicked, an argument started to pick up in Telugu states that the directors who are making spectacle movies should actually focus on making films that have Telugu nativity, rather than pan-India ambition. But then, films like Peddi that have a pure North-Andhra touch have bitten the dust, thus shocking folks who wanted to take up rooted storytelling. So what to focus on?

When it comes to making stories that have universal appeal, stories that are rooted in Telugu culture, and stories that are both rooted and appealing to all sections of society, the big task is finding the right story. Not all stories can be made universally appealing even if it has rooted Telugu content. And sometimes, when making a spectacle, sticking to Telugu culture would limit the movie to a section of the audience. However, the debate should not be about making a pan-India story or a rooted Telugu story, but about this.

Every filmmaker should understand the fact that whether they are making a Pan-India film or a local Telugu film, the content should engage the audience. When Rajamouli made Baahubali and Prashanth Neel made KGF, they just narrated a big story, but haven’t calculated if that would be a rooted Telugu/Kannada story. No matter what the story is, or the backdrop is, or the cultural connection is, a film that has an immersive narrative will work everywhere. Take Spider-Man: Brand New Day as an example.

We have to see what sort of movies Telugu directors will bring upon in the upcoming future anyway.