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Thursday, December 29, 2011

2011 తెలుగు సినిమా విషాదాలు - వివాదాలు

2011 తెలుగు సినిమా రివ్యూ

Simultaneous release of films in the overseas market along with the domestic market has been the latest trend in the Telugu film industry.
It is quite fetching when the talk is good, but at the same time quite risky, too. And in the concluding year, several Telugu films hit the overseas screens, but except two or three films, almost all of them bombed, making the buyers bankrupt.
According to the statistics available so far, during 2011, only three films -- Mirapakay, Kandireega and Sree Rama Rajyam could make profits, that too, very meager: Rs 10 lakh, Rs 5 lakh and Rs 20 lakh respectively in the overseas market. Dookudu made the highest profit, but the exact data is not available.
Mr Perfect also made a little fortune but again the statistics were not available.
All other films have incurred heavy losses. For example, Jr NTR’s much-hyped film Sakthi, which was bought at Rs 2 crore in the US, could generate only Rs 60 lakh, leaving the buyers with a loss of over Rs 1.4 crore. Similarly, Badrinath starring Allu Arjun was bought at Rs 2 crore, but it could make only Rs 50 lakh and the buyer became bankrupt by Rs 1.5 crore. So was the case with Pawan Kalyan-starrer Teen Maar which made a loss of Rs 40 lakh, while Anaganaga Oka Dheerudu starring Siddharth bombed at the box office, causing a huge loss of Rs 90 lakh to the buyer.
The bottom line is that although there is huge number of film lovers in the USA, they are clear in going to the theatres only when the film gets thumping hit.


All-time hit: Dookudu
Super hits: Kandireega Sreerama Raajyam
Hits: Mr. Perfect Mirapakaay 100% Love
Star of the year: Mahesh Babu

As has been commonplace in recent times, flops dominate the hits in Telugu Cinema abroad; the overseas market for Telugu Cinemas has long forgotten something called "average"! Small films are unable to even recover the shipping costs or the costs for the prints, and the theater rents are not even brought into the equation yet! It's alarming that young heroes' films are bought at high prices and the whole investment is lost if the film flops! Owing to this situation, once-active distribution houses are now taking a backseat while new distribution houses are joining the race. Some producers are choosing to distribute their films on their own when they think that the offered prices are not on par with the estimated market status for the hero. For instance, Dil Raju distributed his Mr. Perfect by himself as three of his latest films were disasters and no established distributor wanted to risk a 1-crore investment on his film anymore! He did make his money with the film, but an outsider would have incurred losses due to shipping costs, selling local distribution rights, and so on. Annapurna Studios too started their own overseas distribution channel with Naga Chaitanya's Dhada and followed it up with overseas distribution of Rajanna. Lack of theaters in smaller cities proved to be a problem for films like Sreerama Raajyam and Panjaa, as they could not get theaters at the right time due to the holiday season.
January had 5 films released abroad. Mirapakaay was bought for 70 lakh rupees and fetched decent profits for the exhibitors and distributors. Anaganagaa Oka Dheerudu was bought for one crore rupees, and while the distributors were safe in the whole deal, the exhibitors lost everything on the film! Golconda High School and Wanted could not even recover the cost of prints, and quite notably, one of the blockbuster hits in Andhra Pradesh, Alaa Modalaindi... could not also recover the cost for prints overseas!

Hit: Mirapakaay
In February, 4 films - GaganamKatha-Screenplay-Darshakatwam AppalrajuPrema Kaavaali, andKudirithe Cup-pu Coffee - were released abroad. The 40-lakh rupees of investment of Gaganam could help it towards a breakeven for both distributors and exhibitors, while the same investment for Katha-Screenplay-Darshakatwam Appalraju was washed out for distributors as well as exhibitors. The other two films were released by the respective producers and ended up as flops.

Average: Gaganam
March saw only 2 theatrical releases abroad: Aha Naa Pellanta! amd Dongala Muthaa. The former film had a limited release by the producer himself, with no result at BO, and the latter film which was bought for 15 lakh rupees and was a complete washout.
April has 4 releases in the overseas theaters in the form of ShaktiTeenmaarMr. Perfect, and Nenu Naa RaakshasiShakti was bought for a whopping 2 crore rupees and kept the distributors safe, at the cost of the exhibitors who lost all their investment. Teenmaar was bought for even higher price of Rs. 2.25 crores and ended up with a loss of about Rs. 50 lakhs. The producer himself released Mr. Perfectas he could not find a distributor that offered his expected price. The film collected Rs. 1 crore despite being a blockbuster in India. Nenu Naa Raakshasi was a total washout for an investment of 35 lakh rupees.

Hit: Mr. Perfect
Disappointments: ShaktiTeenmaar
3 films were released in abroad in May100% Love was bought for one crore rupees and was a break-even for all buyers. The film was just an average fare abroad. Veera, which was bought for 60 lakh rupees, and was a diaster at the abroad box-office. Dubbing film Rangam was released too, but it didn't make any big impact at the BO.

Average: 100% Love
Disaster: Veera
June had 2 films released abroad. Badrinath was bought for Rs. 1.85 lakhs and resulted in about Rs. 35 lakhs in losses for the distributor whereas exhibitors lost most of their investment. 180 was released by the producer but it could make profits neither to the producer/distributor nor the exhibitors.

Flops: Badrinath180
July witnessed just 1 film's release abroad. Varun Sandesh's Brahmi Gaadi Katha was brought for a mere five lakh rupees but did not recover that either. �
In the month of August, only Kandireega and Dhada made it to the screens abroad. Kandireega was bought for 20 lakh rupees and made nearly thrice as much! Dhada, on the other hand, was bought for Rs. 60 lakhs and lost it all.

Super Hit: Kandireega
September too just had 1 theatrical release overseas, but it was the much touted Dookudu! The film not only became an all-time hit abroad but also made it to newspapers in the USA, for the buzz it created at the box-office!

All time hit: Dookudu
In October too, only 1 film released abroad. Oosaravelli was bought for Rs. 2.05 crores and had good openings. However, it ended up with a loss of about Rs. 30 lakh rupees for the distributors.
After six long months of less releases, November had 4 films releasing into theaters abroad. Moguduwas bought at 30 lakh rupees and ended up as a loss for all its exhibitors. O My Friend!, at 60 lakh rupees of investment, made a profit to distributors but the exhibitors had to face the losses! It's My Love Story was released by the producer himself and was a damp squib at the box-office abroad. Sreerama Raajyam was bought for a paltry sum of Rs. 40 lakh rupees (given its budget and star cast) and it became a profitable investment for all its buyers, with a total overseas collection amounting to nearly 1 crore rupees.

Super Hit: Sreerama Raajyam
The last month of the year, December, had just 3 releases abroad. Overseas distribution rights forPanjaa were bought for Rs. 2.2 crores and it ended as a flop to its exhibitors. Business details aboutRajanna are yet to be known but the film ended up a flop for the producer who distributed the film on his own. Dubbed movie Journey was released in limited screens and was a flop too. 
Flop: Panjaa

Monday, December 19, 2011

డిజైనర్ 'అను'


2011 తెలుగు సినిమా 'జయాలు - పరాజయాలు'

The year 2011 has come to an end and it is time to have a recap at how the year has been for the economics of Tollywood. Incidentally, the last two to three years have been quite dull for the industry with many promising films becoming duds, films getting delayed due to various reasons.
Anyways, here is an overview of how the year began, its ups and downs and what notable films had their share of success and defeat…
The year began with the medium budget ‘Graduate’ starring Akshay and Tashu Kaushik and it failed to catch the attention of the audience. To add to the disappointment, it was the highly expected film ‘Paramaveera Chakra’ starring Nandamuri Balakrishna which came as a Sankranthi treat but bombed miserably at the box office. However, the respite came in the form of ‘Mirapakaya’ starring Ravi Teja and the mass masala treat clicked with the audience and scored a hit. The Sumanth starrer ‘Golconda High School’ was also good but though it got critical acclaim it could not garner commercial success.
Another big budget disaster that struck during Sankranthi was ‘Anaganaga Oka Dheerudu’ starring Siddarth and Shruti Haasan. This was the debut of Walt Disney pictures in Tollywood but then the result was disappointing. As January came to an end, it is the surprise hit which came in the form of ‘Ala Modalindi’ starring Nani and Nithya Menon. The film became a roaring hit giving new lease of life to small budget movie makers. But ‘Wanted’ starring Gopichand became yet another disaster.
Taking advantage of Telangana chaos, February opened with ‘Jai Bolo Telangana’ and though one song became a hit, the film was a dud. This was followed by the bilingual ‘Gaganam’ with Nag and it was an average success. Manchu Vishnu’s another attempt ‘Vastadu Naa Raju’ failed to click once again and flopped. Then came ‘LBW’, a commendable film in overseas but failed here. Gautam Menon came up with a variety thriller in the form of ‘Erra Gulabeelu’ but it failed to shine due to lack of publicity.
RGV’s much talked about ‘KSD Appalaraju’ also came at the same time but it became a major disaster. Youth icon Varun Sandesh came again in February end with ‘Kudirithe Kappu Coffee’ but the coffee was not that tasty at the box office. It turned out to be a below average grosser. Sai Kumar’s son Aadi made his debut with ‘Prema Kavali’ and though the budget and publicity was massive, the film became a just average grosser. Overall, February was disappointing.
March began with ‘Aha Naa Pellanta’ starring Allari Naresh and it was a hit. Then came Charmee with the much hyped ‘Mangala’ but it turned out to be a major dud. Kannada superstar Upendra came with his ‘Super’ and surprisingly, it caught the attention of the B, C centre audience in a big way and scored good success. Ram Gopal Varma came again with an experimental flick of sorts titled ‘Dongala Mutha’ and as usual, the hype was good but content was poor so the film flopped.
Sumanth came up with a rather raunchy film titled ‘Raaj’ but that didn’t work at the box office. ‘Chattam’ was another movie which came and went without much noise. An interesting twist was the film ‘Gangaputhrulu’. This was a commercial flop but it gained good presence in the film festival circuit. Overall, March started well but it ended up with more of disappointments.
Summer season ticked off with April and it came with the highly expected ‘Shakti’ starring Jr NTR. But right in the first two days, the film was declared a major disaster. The woes continued with yet another big star movie ‘Teen Maar’ starring Pawan Kalyan. Despite getting good critical reviews, the film could not score success. It was only the arrival of ‘Mr Perfect’ starring Prabhas which brought some respite as it became a good hit. The external factors played a key role in making this a success. But the woes continued with another big star film ‘Nenu Naa Rakshasi’ starring Rana and directed by Puri Jagannadh. Despite all the hype, the film became a major dud. So, April turned out to be a disappointment again.
May came with ‘100% Love’ starring Naga Chaitanya and though it got average reviews, the film picked up in the later days and scored a big hit. This was followed by Allari Naresh’s ‘Seema Tapakaya’ which also garnered decent success. The positive graph continued with the dubbed film ‘Rangam’ and it became a very big hit. Same was the case with another dubbed film ‘Ragini MMS’ a horror treat which clicked well. But Tollywood troubles continued with yet another big one ‘Veera’ starring Ravi Teja struggling to make break even. Meanwhile, Kollywood wave continued with ‘Vaishali’ a dubbed film getting above average success. The month ended with Srikanth and Tashu Kaushik’s ‘Dussasana’ directed by Posani which as usual turned out to be a crazy flop. This was followed by another film ‘Vykuntapali’ starring Krishnudu and Tashu Kaushik which had a good concept but poor execution resulting in a flop. Overall, May was a month for dubbed films while Tollywood was going down.
June began with ‘Babloo’ starring few fresh faces and it was a dud as expected. But the big blow came when the much awaited ‘Badrinath’ starring Allu Arjun turned out to be a average grosser. The Kollywood flavour was also there with Bala’s ‘Vaadu Veedu’ scoring a flop. Then came Jagapathi Babu with ‘Nagaram Nidrapotunna Vela’ a major failure again. Siddarth’s bilingual ‘180’ had some promise before release but it could not reach the success mark at all. So, June also turned out to be a below average month for Tollywood.
The month of July came with ‘Virodhi’ by national award winner Neelakantha but it was not upto the mark. The film was more of an offbeat genre. Varun came again with ‘Brahmi Gadi Katha’ and it bombed without a trace. The oxygen came with the dubbed horror flick ‘Kanchana’ which roared at the box office. ‘Nanna’ was yet another brilliant film which didn’t get the required publicity and success but touched the hearts of audience. Jagapathi Babu’s ‘Key’ flunked miserably.
Krishnudu’s magic failed to work with ‘Amayakudu’ and this was followed by Tanish’s ‘Kodi Punju’, yet another disappointment. Another Kollywood treat came in the form of ‘Sega’ starring Nani and Nithya Menon but it could not survive. Overall, the month of July was filled with medium budget and small budget flicks but nothing worked at the box office.
August came with the dubbed movie ‘Naa Peru Shiva’ starring Karthi and it scored an above average success. The flop streak continued for Tollywood with ‘Dhada’ starring Naga Chaitanya, this was a miserable failure. It was only after Ram came with ‘Kandireega’ that hopes brightened. The film was a major hit. A medium budget flick ‘Mugguru’ produced by Rama Naidu didn’t click despite overflowing glamour from heroines. The Malayalam dubbed ‘Urumi’ had good potential but it failed due to lack of publicity and word of mouth.
Another dubbed movie from Tamil came with ‘Prema Khaidi’ but it didn’t get the required success like it got in Kollywood. The Telugu film ‘Mr Rascal’ was another major disaster. Another film which followed suit was ‘Keratam’ despite massive publicity and hype. Sumanth tried once again with his film ‘Daggaraga Dooramga’ but he could not succeed. The RGV protégé JD Chekravarthy came with his ‘Money Money More Money’ but despite its backdrop, it was an annoying disaster. So, August also didn’t have much to talk about.
September saw the arrival of a dubbed movie ‘1947- A Love Story’ and though it had good potential the film suffered due to lack of promotion and failed. Krishnudu’s attempts with his medium budget ‘Naaku O Loverundhi’ didn’t work and he scored another flop. Kollywood star Ajith came with his ‘Gambler’ and the Telugu version flopped while the Tamil version became a super hit. A film with fresh faces ‘Nenu Nanna Abaddham’ came and went without much noise.
Similarly, ‘Akasame Haddu’ also created some noise before release but went silent after release. The dubbed season continued with Jiiva’s ‘Vachchadu Gelichadu’ but that didn’t work at the box office. The turning point for Tollywood came this year with the arrival of Mahesh Babu’s ‘Dookudu’. The film became a roaring blockbuster at the box office rewriting the Tollywood history records. Of course, Allari Naresh could not repeat his magic with ‘Madatha Kaja’ which became a below average treat. That way, September gave a lot of confidence with one blockbuster.
October began with Jr NTR returning in a different avatar. His ‘Oosaravelli’ showed promise at the start but eventually became an below average grosser. The surprise hit came in the form of ‘Pilla Zamindar’ starring Nani. His market value has been ascertained once again. Murugadoss’s much hyped film ‘7th Sense’ opened with good promise but failed to pick up speed in the following days. It became an average grosser. The month saw very few releases and though the big ticket flicks came with lot of hype, the overall result was just average.
November started with a small time flick ’Nuvvila’ and though it had good talk, it didn’t get the required revenue due to lack of publicity and promotion. Many had hopes on ‘Mogudu’ starring Gopichand but that failed to click. Madhura Sreedhar came with his second venture ‘It’s My Love Story’, that turned a musical hit and made a comfortable break even. The notable flick came in the form of ‘Oh My Friend’ starring Siddarth and it was a decent treat.
It was a bit disappointing to see Nandamuri Balakrishna’s ‘Sri Rama Rajyam’ having everything to score a hit but failing to strike the mark. However, many say this is more of a masterpiece and not a commercial venture. Young hero Nikhil came with ‘Veedu Theda’ and it worked at the B, C centres. Nara Rohit came with his ‘Solo’ and the film was the perfect recipe for family entertainer. This got a good response at the start but could not sustain for long. November that way was mixed with hits and flops.
December came with ‘Bezawada’ starring Naga Chaitanya and though it had enough hype and promotion from RGV, it didn’t have enough material to score. This became a dud. Same with ‘Sangarshana’, the dubbed movie from Tamil and its intensity didn’t work with the Telugu audience. Varun Sandesh came again with his ‘Priyudu’ and returned with a flop in his kitty. The crucial film for the month was ‘Panjaa’ and despite getting a strong pre release talk the film really didn’t have it to score a Pawan Kalyan range of hit. This was a disappointment.
A hit in the making right now is ‘Journey’ with sensible script and good performances. ‘Rathinirvedam’ is a dubbed treat from Malayalam and the erotic quotient is working in B, C centres. ‘Duniya’ is another film which has turned out to be a dud. As the year is coming to a close, all eyes are now on ‘Rajanna’ starring Nagarjuna. Already, the trailers are creating some waves and the mark of S S Rajamouli in it has been the key factor. If ‘Rajanna’ scores a hit then 2011 will end on a good note.
Overall, the year has been better in comparison with the previous years and 2012 looks more promising since the big heroes are gearing up to arrive with at least two films in one year. The steady performance of few films in 2011 is also another factor for planning the year ahead with better parameters. Here’s waving a goodbye to 2011 and wishing Tollywood a successful 2012.

Saturday, December 10, 2011

కధానాయకుడు 'రామ్'

కుర్రకారు కొల'వెర్రి'

కధానాయకుల 'క్రీడాభి రామం'

దర్శకుడు 'త్రివిక్రమ్' శ్రీనివాస్

He needs no introduction....

Interest in cinema

Searching for opportunities
Traveling with Posani Krishna Murali
Nuvve Kavali
Nuvve Nuvve
Conflicting result for Khaleja in India and overseas
Tell us about Julayi?
Whats your reading on actor Allu Arjun?
Pawan Kalyan: A personal observation
Mahesh Babu: A personal observation
Reviews and mouth talk
Next project with Pawan Kalyan

ప్రతినాయకుడు 'చరణ్ రాజ్'