An unfair bias?
Tollywood producers bemoan the situation where dubbed Tamil films are hits in the Telugu states, but there is no reciprocal eagerness for dubbed Telugu films in Tamil Nadu
With the fight between distributors of Telugu movies like Krack and Alludu Adhurs and dubbed Tamil movie Master taking an ugly turn last week, leading to personal attacks, Telugu film bigwigs are annoyed with our state audience’s fascination for Tamil stars.
Telugu makers claim that Tamil distributors pay just `1 crore or `2 crore for dubbing movies of Telugu superstars. Also, these films are not given proper theatres and publicity in Tamil Nadu, they allege.
On the other hand, Telugu distributors pay between `5 crore and `20 crore for dubbed movies of Rajnikanth, Vijay, Surya, Karthi and Dhanush among others, and give them a lot of theatres at the cost of Telugu movies at times, they add.
“We have to blame Telugu producers and distributors who are in a tearing hurry to buy dubbed Tamil movies and release them for festivals, eating into the revenues of Telugu movies,” rues leading producer Nallamallapu Bujji. “Tamil distributors or producers don’t show the same enthusiasm for dubbing Telugu movies despite having big stars. In fact, the budgets of some Telugu movies are more than Tamil movies but when it comes to dubbing, we get buyers for Hindi dubbing rights but definitely not from Chennai. Our guys have to think about this partiality,” he says.
The producer, who made movies with stars like Venkatesh (Lakshmi) and Allu Arjun (Race Gurram) wants to join the dubbing bandwagon.
“Maybe I’ll get more theatres if I get a dubbed movie, so I’m thinking of changing tracks,” he says.
On the other hand, distributor Abhishek Nama who has released dubbed movies of Tamil stars like Vikram and Prabhu Deva, says, “It’s a misconception that all dubbed Tamil movies mint money at the Telugu box office, since Telugu viewers patronise different themes. I agree that we pay Tamil producers anywhere between `5 crore and `20 crore
Telugus are large-hearted and welcome Tamil stars like Rajnikanth,
Surya, Vishal,
Karthi and now Vijay. But stars alone cannot guarantee success in the two Telugu states Abhishek Nama, Producer-distributor
Tamil viewers are quite demanding, so we have to package our Telugu movies better. Rather than blaming Tamilians, we have to correct ourselves and dish out exciting and novel content
Teja, director
per film. Of course, Telugus are largehearted and welcome Tamil stars like Rajnikanth, Surya, Vishal, Karthi and now Vijay. But stars alone cannot guarantee success in the two Telugu states, as they also deliver flops.” He says that Telugu producers have to realise that competition is going to expand in the days to come.
“After Bangalore, Hyderabad has become a cosmopolitan city. Marathi, Kannada and Malayalam movies have done well, so we have to be prepared for stiff competition at the ticket windows,” he reasons.
On Telugu stars being unable to penetrate into Tamil Nadu over the years, director Teja says, “Probably, they are content with their stardom in Telugu and focus on promoting their movies in the two Telugu states, unlike Tamil star Vijay Sethupathi, who is doing straight Telugu films like Sye Raa… and Uppena along with his Tamil movies.” He goes on to express the view that “Tamil viewers are quite demanding, so we have to package our Telugu movies better.” Besides, Tamil viewers don’t take star-centric movies seriously but prefer script-driven movies, he feels, adding, “Another reason could be that Tamil stars like Vijay, Jayam Ravi, Karthi and Dhanush have remade successful Telugu films to help their careers.”
“Nonetheless, rather than blaming Tamilians, we have to correct ourselves and dish out exciting and novel content,” stresses Teja.
Agreeing with this view, veteran Tamil producer Keyaar says Tamilians are open-minded and like to watch exciting dubbed Telugu films. “Even recent release Ala Vaikuntapurammulo did roaring business in Tamil Nadu. In fact, Baahubali grossed Rs 75 crore in Tamil Nadu alone, while sensational movies like Arjun Reddy and Arundathi struck a chord with Tamil audiences,” he points out. “Frankly, Telugu stars have to promote their films in Tamil Nadu in a big way by staying in Chennai for couple of days, instead of releasing it as just another dubbed movie,” he feels. “It is true that Tamil viewers have begun to watch Telugu movies with some interest these days. So, it’s high time that stars like Mahesh Babu, Allu Arjun, and Vijay Devarakonda take steps to expand their markets in Tamil Nadu by spending more time and money to strengthen their fans base among Tamil viewers. It is more to do with strategy and commitment than anything else,” he says. Keyaar also notes that there only 1000-odd screens in Tamil Nadu, making it difficult to accommodate movies in other languages at times.
Talking about the tastes of Telugu viewers, young Tamil director Eashvar Karthic, whose recent movie Penguin starring Keerthy Suresh was released in Telugu too, says “Although I received mixed response for my nail-biting thriller, I am aware that modern Telugu audiences are game for variety.” Pointing out that “My colleague and director Lokesh Kanagaraj has delivered back-to-back hits Khaidi and Master in the two Telugu states,” Karthic says “Every director would like to grab more eyeballs and films are meant to break regional and global barriers to expand viewership base.”
Although I received mixed response for my nail-biting thriller, I am aware that modern Telugu audiences are game. Every director would like to grab more eyeballs and films are meant to break regional and global barriers to expand viewership base.” — Eashvar Karthic, Tamil director