Telugu film shoots might stop from August 1 to ‘restructure the industry’

Telugu film producers are contemplating stalling movie shoots from August 1, 2022, in a bid to “restructure the industry”. Production costs have mounted several fold while theatrical revenues dropped to low levels. Several producers held meetings in the last two days in Hyderabad and decided to take stern action to set things right for the industry’s survival. A producer said that the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce has been notified of their decision to halt film shootings from August 1.

A Telugu film producer told this correspondent, “Theatrical revenues, except for blockbuster movies like RRR, KGF-2 and one or two others, have fallen to an abysmal low of 20 per cent. This has hit the industry hard, which was already reeling under the COVID impact. Everyone is now worried about the sustainability of the industry in such a scenario,” the producer said.

The producers have come together to devise ways to restructure the entire industry to ensure its survival, he added. The producers have taken a major decision not to release any new movie on OTT platforms for 10 weeks after the theatrical release.

“Now, even movies of big stars are making it to the OTT within three weeks. This is further contributing to the drop in theatrical revenues. Small (budget) films are unable to survive in such a market,” another noted producer pointed out. “We will have further talks in the next few days and arrive at a final decision on the way forward,” the producer said.