Exclusive: 600 Telugu films in cold storage

By M H Ahssan

Tollywood may be known for producing the highest number of movies in India, but it is also fast creating a record for having the most number of incomplete movies gathering dust in cine labs due to credit crunch. according to the Andhra Pradesh Film Chamber of Commerce, there are around 600 films stuck halfway through production which are yet to see the light of day. Most of these half done reels are lying in the Ramanaidu, Prasad, Rainbow and Balaji labs now.

M. Vijandar Reddy, secretary, AP Film Chamber of Commerce reveals that most Tollywood films are produced on credit. “With no investors to pump in the moolah now, most producers are unable to pay their atristes before the film releases. And as a rule, film labs don’t release movies unless all the remuneration dues of the cast and crew are cleared by the production house.”

The slump in real estate came as yet another blow to the film industry. The boom in the realty sector led to a lot of real estate dealers venturing into film production. but with the current real estate slowdown, most investors backed out. “I started making a film on terrorism with a new set of actors two years ago,” says Bhanu Prakash Rao, a real estate dealer-turned-producer. “But since my business isn’t doing well, I was forced to drop the project for the time being,” he adds.
While projects with big names and star appeal do manage to attract investors sooner or later, it’s projects with fresh faces that never make it to theatres.

Thammareddy Bharadwaja, president, AP Film producer’s council, says, “There are many newcomers who venture into film production without a proper estimation of the industry. They cast their sons or relatives as heroes and now that they are out of money, no one else is ready to take the risk of finishing the film.” Meanwhile, the films that have been sitting on shelves, are getting dated. Even if someone did come forward to fish a particular project out from cold storage, most of the films will have to be to reshot as the heroes look older now, the child artistes have grown up and the costumes used are completely out of vogue.