The Telugu film industry has been crisis-ridden since the start of the pandemic. The ticket pricing issue sparked by the Andhra Pradesh government blew over recently. But there has been no respite. A lot of notable releases have failed miserably at the box office this year. The pervasive OTT culture that has seeped into the urban and semi-urban areas of the Telugu States is a major reason for this.
A drastic reduction in production costs is the only option left. But heroes and directors are not ready to make sacrifices. Star heroes have always been the biggest crowd-pullers. In the era of OTT, they have become even more important. So, they won't be ready to cut down their fee.
In 2020 and 2021, there were reports that actors have been asked by top-tier producers to slash their fees by at least 25%. Nobody knows what happened later.
Today, a host of producers reportedly deliberated upon a plan of action to convince top heroes and directors to reduce fees so that producers and distributors can breathe easy. There is another version that the meeting was about coercing character artists and technicians to slash their fees.
Meanwhile, Eenadu has speculated that all film shoots will be suspended indefinitely from August 1 until the outstanding issues are resolved. Nobody knows the truth as yet. Suspension of production could be counter-productive. As such, the producers may not opt for the drastic step.
