| This
article is about the Telugu film industry. |
| Tollywood (????????) refers to the Telugu language film industry. The
name derives the concept from Hollywood, Telugu + Hollywood. Sometimes,
the term Tollywood is also used to refer to the Bengali cinema industry
as a mix of Tollygunge + Hollywood. |
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Industry
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(1 crore = 10,000,000 rupees, approximately US$230,000 or €190,000
on May 11, 2005.)
Telugu is the second largest spoken language in India after Hindi and the
Telugu movie industry is based in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India.
After Bollywood (Nickname for Hindi Movie Industry), more movies are made
in Telugu every year than in any other language in India. The first Telugu
film Bhishma Pratigna was made in 1922 by R.S. Prakash. Yaragudipati Varada
Rao (1903-1973) was another notable contributor to the Telugu movie industry.
He was an actor and director, who directed silent films like Pandava Nirvana,
Pandava Agnathavaas in 1930 and Hari Maya in 1932. The first telugu talkie
Bhakta Prahlada, was released in 1931. It was directed by Hanumappa Muniappa
Reddy. Most of the initial Telugu talkies released had mythological stories
that drew inspiration from the vibrant Telugu drama and stage industry.
In 1936, Krittiventi Nageswara Rao made the first Telugu film not based
on mythology, Premavijayam. This film spurred other Telugu film-makers into
making such films. Some popular themes of these so-called 'social' films
were the feudal Zamindari system (Raitu Bidda, 1939), untouchability (Mallapilla,
1938), and widow remarriage. Since then, there have been both 'social'(contemporary)
and mythological or folk stories in Telugu cinema. Currently, about 150
Telugu movies are released every year with approximately two releases
every week. In 2005, the annual turnover reached to Rs. 2.3 Billion ($52
Million) on ticket sales of 700 million. Popular movies tend to open during
the three festive seasons of the region: Sankranthi, Summer, and Dushera.
In 2004, the total business for the Sankranthi season was around Rs. 1.5
Billion (150 Crores). There are at least three TV channels that are dedicated
exclusively to feature programs related to Telugu movies.
Below is a chart of box office collections of Tollywood with figures
in millions of Indian Rupees. |
| Year |
Tollywood Box Office |
| 1980 |
819 |
| 1985 |
1,526 |
| 1990 |
3,333 |
| 1995 |
7,985 |
| 2000 |
14,011 |
| 2005 |
23,044 |
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| Telugu film industry accounts for 1% of the gross state domestic product
of Andhra Pradesh. |
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Crossover from Other Regional Industries
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| Many famous Bollywood actresses often take time to do Telugu movies, mainly
due to large remunerations and quick pace of production. Well-known stars
like Sonali Bendre and Amisha Patel were paid about Rs. 75 lakhs per movie
while smaller stars like Katrina Kaif were paid about Rs. 60 lakhs. Sadha,
Bhoomika and Charmi (all Bombay girls) charge 50-60 lakhs per film. Shriya,
Genelia - the leading female stars are paid 30-40 lakhs per film, depending
on the number of days they shoot. |
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Budgets
|
(1 crore = 10,000,000 rupee, approximately US$230,000 or €190,000
on May 11, 2005.)
Akkineni Nagarjuna as Akhil in Super (2005).The budgets for Telugu movies
typically range between 7-15 crores per film. Pre-lease revenues for popular
films can range between 12-20 crores per film and post-release business
for these movies can be around 25-50 crores depending on the success of
the movie. Popular actors like Chiranjeevi, Akkineni Nagarjuna, Balakrishna,
Venkatesh, Pawan Kalyan, Mahesh Babu are some of the highest paid actors
in Tollywood. |
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Fans
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| Well-known stars of Tollywood have devoted fan followings in the South.
While the late Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao leads the list of actors with huge
fan base, Akkineni Nageswara Rao , Chiranjeevi, Akkineni Nagarjuna,Venkatesh,
Balakrishna, Mahesh Babu, Pawan Kalyan, are very popular and enjoy a significant
fan following among the Telugu movie watchers. |
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Miscellaneous
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The first Telugu talkie movie - Bhakta Prahlada Produced by H. M. Reddy
was released in 1931.
First Hindi and Tamil talkie films were also released in 1931.
80 Telugu films were made in the first five years after the release of Bhakta
Prahlada.
The longtime Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, N. T. Rama Rao, was an alumnus
of Tollywood.
Pokiri, starring Mahesh Babu and Ileana, holds the record for the highest
grossing Telugu film ever. |
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