No content, no returns - TeluguPeople.com News

'Big movies are killing us. They are not allowing us to grow,' is an often heard lament of small film-makers. The argument is not without substance and industry veterans like Dasari Narayana Rao have empathized with them on various occasions.

Even a film like Mithunam which won critical acclaim had to face the problem of theaters for its release. But recent releases show that the lack of availability of theaters is not the sole reason for small films not having a proper reception at the box office.

The last three months has virtually been a dream period for small films. Thanks to the ongoing political agitations in the state, no star film barring Toofan has had a theatrical release.

Theaters have been available in plenty and none of the usual problems associated with small films were in vogue. In other words, there was absolutely no scope for big films to discourage the smaller ventures.

In such a scenario, one would have expected at least a couple of small films to rule at the ticket window. Unfortunately, that does not seem to be the case. Five to six movies are releasing every week and disappearing without a trace. So where does the fault lie?

Not all the films which have released recently have been made with complete newcomers. They were many films which came with minimum expectations and featured known faces in the industry. But none of them have managed to impress the audiences.

Romance, produced by Maruthi and directed by Swami, Jagadguru Adi Shankara, directed by Bharavi, Prema Oka Maikam which attracted attention for Charmee playing the role of a call girl in it, Athadu Aame Oka Scooter, starring Vennela Kishore, Veyyi Abaddalu directed by Teja and starring Sairam Shankar, Dalam, starring Naveen Chandra and directed by Jeevan Reddy which dealt with the lives of surrendered naxalites, etc, are all movies which had glamour element in them to a certain extent.

But this failed to salvage the movies. The fact that not a single one among the nearly 25 such films released managed to show a profit to its producers speaks for itself.

Only Mohan Krishna Indraganti's Antaka Mundu Aa Taravata earned appreciation for being a clean entertainer. Yet, the collections of this movie remain lackluster despite a favorable rating by the critics.

Thanks to the proliferation of digital technology in film making, a lot of youngsters are now coming forward to prove their mettle as directors and technicians, in the industry.

Their passion is definitely understandable. However, lack of complete clarity on the 24 frames of film-making coupled with poor choice of scripts and cast has put a dampener on their efforts, at the box office.

Many businessmen are entering the industry lured by the glamour, especially from the realty sector. What they need to understand is that knowledge and awareness about film-making and the market conditions is paramount over passion.

The market in Tollywood is merciless and spares no one, big or small. Director Teja is a good example. Most small ventures are now started with an eye on table profits, courtesy of the satellite rights they are supposed to fetch.

Unfortunately, that is not the case and these film-makers have been forced to realize it the hard way. This is precisely the reason why there is such an abysmal success rate among small films even though a new project is announced every alternate day.

From the above experiences we can perhaps safely summarize that big movies are not the reason for the suffering of small films.It all boils down to the old adage ' 'Content is King'!

It is this factor entirely which determines the fate of the movie at the box office, big or small. New entrants would do well to be aware of all these aspects before making their foray.