Tollywood’s producer council and active producers guild called for ‘Bandh’ to stop the shootings from yesterday. Telugu film industry is going through its worst revenue crisis, the industry didn’t even have a single hit film in the month of July. The producers council has requested all it’s members to stop the shootings as of August 1 in order to analyse what’s going wrong for the business.
Dil Raju, the leader of the Telugu producers guild and council, presided over this meeting, but unfortunately, the celebrated producer was not adhering to the guidelines he set. In Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, there are currently 50 filming locations, including Dil Raju’s bilingual movie “Varasudu.” Despite establishing the regulations, Dil Raju obtained an exemption for the filming of “Varasudu” by claiming that it is a Tamil film rather than a Telugu one and as such will not be subject to the “Bandh” requirements. The Naga Vamsi-produced film “Sir,” starring Dhanush, likewise declined to participate in the “Bandh” for the same absurd justification as Dil Raju. Veteran producer Ashwini Dutt made a public declaration that he wouldn’t halt filming for his movie. Furthermore, 18 further film shoots have continued in AP/TG. The makers of these alleged that they were not officially informed of the strike by the guild or council.
Dil Raju, is being criticised by the public for disrespecting the guild. The public believes that Dil Raju ought to serve as an example for others, but his breaking of his own vow suggests that the council members are not working together well and that he is not a strong leader. They also think that the current Tollywood generation needs strong leadership and an industry godfather who can unite the top executives.
As ‘Vaarasudu’ is a Vijay film, the amount of money invested in the movie could be very high, but that does not excuse your example-setting greed for other producers. Yes, stopping the filming has numerous drawbacks, but it’s the only option our Telugu industry has at this point. Dil Raju is being criticised for his dubious behaviour not just by the general public but also by numerous producers and directors.
Let’s see how this plays out.