Tollywood already suffers a loss of 80 crore

When it comes to Tollywood, the drama never seems to end, just like in its movies. The industry which has just managed to limp back to normalcy after the stuntsmen went on a 35-day long strike in December, is caught in yet another crossfire. And this time it’s the Film Employees Federation which is calling the shots. It’s been 10 days since movie shootings have come to a complete standstill, costing the industry an estimated loss of 80 crore.
    That’s not all. A couple of outdoor shootings had to be cancelled after the location fees were paid, the date sheets of actors are in a disarray and most importantly, the interest rate on the movie finances are escalating, leaving the producers devastated. Shooting of big-budget flicks starring the likes of Balakrishna, Nagarjuna and Venkatesh, have come to a halt.
    The current strike is taking a toll on the biggest of producers. Daggubati Suresh Babu says, “We have lost two months of work, resulting in a revenue loss of 20 per cent. Employees were demanding a 60 per cent hike, while we were ready for a 32 per cent hike. Finally, we even offered them 60 per cent, but they have not accepted. We pay much more than the government’s labour act norms, but yet they are not satisfied.”
    But the unions, who are in no mood to get mollycoddled, tell a whole new story. “The strike will continue till the seven unions are satisfied. Since the next revision will take place only after three years, what is being offered is negligible. Given the current high inflation, the pay hike they are
offering is not acceptable,”
insists K Rajeshwar
Reddy, general secretary of AP Film Industry Employees Federation.
    Going by the way this strike is unfolding, things may get worse, predict exhibitors. “Movies like “Theen Maar”, “Mr Perfect,” “100 % Love” among others, were slated to release during Sankranti. Due to strike, they have been delayed. There is hardly a week’s gap between releases, significantly decreasing revenue for producers,” says Vijendar Reddy, president of the Telangana Film Chamber of Commerce, who adds, “I know a producer who took a loan of 15 crore and has been paying interest in lakhs.”
    Producers have to battle not just the monetary issues, but also their stars’ problems. Actor/producer Lakshmi Manchu says, “The dates I got from actors for the film I am producing have all gone haywire. I have to figure out a way to fix that, apart from having to deal with the interest rates on the finance loans. The work on my film sets have also stalled. It is especially painful to bear this when I know a Tamil film unit is happily shooting in Hyderabad, but we can’t.”
The desperate producers can’t even hire outsiders to complete the shooting, because they are obliged to hire only registered film employees. And enrolling someone into the film crew is not an option either, thanks to the astron o m i c a l union membership fee of around 5 lakh. “We can’t even hire outsiders as all our dancers and t e ch n i c i a n s have to be hired from these fixed unions. Moreover, new prospects from outside can’t afford to join these unions. This strike is foolish and it is killing the industry. It is a massive financial set back for us. The other film industries are moving on, but we stay stagnant because of such strikes and rules,” adds producer Suresh Babu