It seems as if the Telugu film industry is on a mission — to commit suicide. Yes, the Telugu film industry just wants to give up and commit suicide. Once the reigning film industry in the South, the Telugu film industry is now the industry with a death wish.
What does death wish mean; and why do we say so?
According to the dictionary, “death wish” means having a conscious or unconscious desire to die or be killed. And looking at the antics of the Telugu film industry, it’s a sure shot fit on the industry that it’s made up its mind to die.
What else would explain the suicidal tendencies of the Telugu film industry in recent times? And what else will you call its abominal practice of releasing almost all Telugu movies on OTT within three weeks — if not suicidal?
The latest film, in a long line of Telugu films to do this, is The Family Star. The Vijay Deverakonda began streaming this morning on Prime Video, a mere 21 days after its theatrical release.
It is obvious to even the most layman film follower that the Telugu film industry is struggling – massively.
When almost every major film industry in India is thriving and flourishing, Telugu films are struggling to merely break even, let alone be hits. Only one Telugu movie has proved to be a legit blockbuster this year, and that is HanuMan – a film with no big names in its credits.
All other Telugu films have been disasters at the box office, even biggies like Guntur Kaaram and Saindhav. A few like Tillu Square managed to hold their own in theatres for some time, but only just.
The long list of flops and the too few hits makes one wonder at the reason for the sorry state of affairs in the Telugu film industry. The blame for this can be laid squarely at their disastrous release policies. Telugu movies are the only ones — a huge number too — that have been making the terrible decision of releasing on OTT platforms within three weeks of theatrical release – some have even opted to release within two weeks of hitting theatres.
Here are a few major films that released on OTT without completing their full four weeks theatrical window –
1. Allu Arjun’s Pushpa
2. Rana Daggubati’s Virata Parvam
3. Chiranjeevi & Ram Charan’s Acharya
4. Mahesh Babu’s Sarkaru Vaari Paata
5. Naga Chaitanya’s Thank You
6. Venkatesh Daggubati’s Saindhav
7. Varun Tej’s Operation Valentine
8. Sundeep Kishan’s Michael
9. Telugu Film Intinti Ramayanam
10. Comedy film Om Bheem Bush
11. Vijay Deverakonda’s The Family Star
This list is just the major Telugu films that have opted for a very early OTT release date for a big ticket film. There are numerous smaller Telugu films that did the same.
Today, streaming rights of films, along with their OTT release dates, are locked even before the films hit cinema screens. Streaming giants offer lucrative sums for quick streaming rights for buzzy films. Producers of the films readily agree with the terms and conditions laid down by OTT platforms such as Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus Hotstar, SonyLIV and ZEE5. They may do it out of greed, fear or helplessness.
But the fact remains that most Telugu filmmakers have become comfortable with the idea of a shorter 3-week theatrical window, and early OTT release for their films. This new trend has had a devastating effect on the businesses of Telugu films.
Audiences have wizened to the fact that Telugu films will mostly arrive on OTT even before 4 weeks of their theatrical release. Rather than spending big bucks at the cinema hall, audiences now consider it beneficial to wait for a few weeks and watch their preferred films on OTT. A trip to the theatres is reserved only for event films like Hanu-Man.
Very soon, early OTT releases for films will sound the death knell for the Telugu film industry. The need of the hour is to learn a few lessons from the Malayalam film industry, or even Bollywood for that matter. Both make it a point to release their films on OTT only after 8 weeks or more. Malayalam films stick it out for even longer – 3 months or so.
And the results are there for all to see. The Malayalam film industry has given back to back blockbusters this year, the most from any film industry. Telugu filmmakers must resist the temptation of releasing their films early on OTT.
Raising the theatrical window to 8 weeks will work even better. Only then will Telugu cinema, as we know it, survive and thrive.
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