T town's time-tested formula goes phut

Hyderabad: It’s high time that T-town stars and producers devised a new strategy of doing business. Their time-tested formula of selling films, based on the previous blockbusters of superstars has gone terribly wrong.

Producers and distributors have pushed themselves to the brink by shelling out exorbitant amounts for the movies of stars, in what can only be termed as ‘gambling’ for want of a better word.

According to industry sources, movies of superstars Pawan Kalyan, Mahesh Babu, NTR and Ram Charan are sold on the basis of the collections’ of their previous blockbusters. Apparently, this plan hasn’t worked.

Our superstars and producers presume that every film of theirs will be a blockbuster and sell their films at a price, taking the revenues of their earlier film as a benchmark.

Needless to say, distributors and exhibitors have incurred huge losses of late by following this model, as the majority of big-ticket films in recent times have bombed at the box-office,” laments distributor Trinath of Nizam region.

Trinath opines that the collections of a flop movie of any star should be the ‘yardstick’ since blockbusters are an exception. “The days of an average-grosser are long gone. Either a movie is a hit or a flop, so we need to find a find a new path he adds.

Although, there have been 30-odd flops this year, distributors cite two recent two big films as good enough examples for the industry to wake up from its slumber. The industry lost around Rs 40 to 50 crore on these two films alone.

For instance, Pawan Kalyan’s Sardar Gabbar Singh was reportedly sold for Rs 25 crore in Nizam region, which was the amount garnered by his earlier blockbuster Atharintiki Daredi, followed by Mahesh Babu’s Brahmosatvam, which was bought for Rs 18 crore in Nizam, the amount garnered by his earlier blockbuster Srimanthatudu.

These big films were sold in a similar manner in Andhra and Ceded regions and in the overseas market, hoping they would turn out to be blockbusters, but distributors and exhibitors sank under the burden of mounted debts to the tune of nearly Rs 40 to 50 crore. A few inexperienced politicians and realtors are also buying films for big prices, ruining the industry further.” rues Ramakrishna, a distributor from Chittoor.

Senior producer Prakash Reddy recalls the strategy adopted by the legends NTR and ANR to tide over similar crises in the past. “For some time, when the industry was going through a lean phase, NTR and ANR took home just Rs 10, 000 per film, even though their market price was Rs 3 lakh per film.

They even avoided working with star comedian Raja Babu who was reluctant to slash his remuneration of Rs 1.5 lakh per film. NTR also kept track of his flops, and cut the distribution rates accordingly. So our stars should look beyond their remunerations to revive T-town fortunes said Prakash Reddy.