Telugu Cinema (Telugu: తెలుగు సినీపరిశ్రమ), refers to the cinema in Telugu language, sometimes referred as Tollywood, a portmanteau of "Telugu" and "Hollywood". The industry is the second largest in India in terms of number of movies made in a year and third largest in terms of infrastructure. The state of Andhra Pradesh has the highest number of cinema halls in India. The IMAX theater in Hyderabad has a few world records to its credit. The industry has a few Guinness records for the most films directed by male and female directors, the most number of films produced by a person and for having the largest film studio in the world and also recently actor called Brahmanandam got Guinness Record for acting more than 750 films in a single Language
Industry
- (1 crore = 10,000,000 rupees, approximately US$ 250,124.68 on Feb 24, 2008.)
The Telugu cinema industry, is based in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. The Telugu film industry produces the largest number of films every year in India, with about 245 films produced in 2006. Popular movies tend to open during the three festive/holiday seasons of the region: Sankranthi, Ugadi, and Dussera. In 2004, total revenue for the Sankranthi season was around Rs. 1.5 billion (US$37 million, as of July 17, 2007). There are number of TV channels ( Teja TV etc.,) dedicated exclusively to feature programs related to Telugu movies.This is the industy having a maximum comediens in the world and this will varies first and second place in the india but now in the 2008 bollywood is the top film industry in India .
Currently, about 150 Telugu films are released every year with approximately 3 productions every week. Just like any other cinema industry, the Telugu film industry produces all genres of cinema. In 2005, the annual turnover reached Rs. 2.3 Billion ($52 Million), with Rs. 700 million coming from the ticket sales itself next only to Hindi and Tamil. Popular movies tend to open during the three festive/holiday seasons of the region: Sankranti, Summer, and Dusshera. In 2004, the industry made around Rs. 1.5 Billion (150 Crores) during the Sankranthi season. There are at least three TV channels that are dedicated exclusively to feature programs related to Telugu movies.
Box Office Collections
The Telugu film industry accounts for 1% of the gross domestic product of Andhra Pradesh.. There is a fair amount of dispersion amongst the Indian film industries. Many successful Telugu films have been remade by the Hindi and Tamil film industries. Tollywood has also remade a fair number of Hindi, Tamil, malayalam and other language films. Nowadays most Telugu films are subsequently dubbed into Malayalam on release. In the last 2 years, about 30 Telugu films were simultaneously released in Malayalam. Below is a chart of box office collections of Telugu Film Industry with figures in millions of Indian Rupees.
| Year | Telugu Cinema Box Office |
|---|---|
| 1980 | 819 |
| 1985 | 1,526 |
| 1990 | 3,333 |
| 1995 | 7,985 |
| 2000 | 14,011 |
| 2005 | 23,044 |
The Telugu film industry accounts for 1% of the gross domestic product of Andhra Pradesh
Distribution
The state of Andhra Pradesh has more than 2700 Cinema theatres, of which 150 are in the city of Hyderabad alone.
The Tollywood film distribution is divided into 12 areas:-
| Area | Cities |
|---|---|
| Nizam | Hyderabad |
| Rangareddy | |
| Medak | |
| Nalgonda | |
| Nizamabad (Induru) | |
| Warangal | |
| Adilabad | |
| Khammam | |
| Mahabubnagar (Palamuru) | |
| Karimnagar (Srirampuru) | |
| Raichur (Karnataka) | |
| Rayalaseema | Kurnool |
| Cuddapah | |
| Anantapur | |
| Chittoor | |
| Tirupathi | |
| Bellary(Karnataka) | |
| Nellore | |
| Guntur | Guntur |
| Prakasam | |
| Krishna | |
| East Godavari | |
| West Godavari | |
| Vizag | Vishakapatnam |
| Vijayanagaram | |
| Srikakulam | |
| Tamil Nadu | |
| Karnataka | |
| Orissa | |
| Overseas |
History
Early development: 1921-1930
The Telugu film industry originated with the silent film in 1921, with the production of Bhisma Pratighna. The film was directed by Raghupati Venkaiah and his son R.S. Prakash. The two would go on to produce and direct dozens of films throughout the decade, casting theater actors in major roles. They established a long-lasting precedent of focusing exclusively on religious themes; Nandanar, Gajendra Moksham, and Matsyavatar, three of their most famous productions, centered on religious figures, parables, and morals
Rise of the Talkie: 1931-1947
In 1931, the first Telugu film with audible dialogue, Bhakta Prahlad, was produced by H.M. Reddy Popularly known as 'talkies', films with sound quickly grew in number and fanbase. In 1934, the industry saw its first major commercial success with Lavakusa. Directed by C. Pullaiah and starring Parupalli Subbarao and Sriranjani in lead roles, the film attracted unprecedented numbers of viewers to theaters and thrust the young film industry into mainstream culture.
By 1936, the mass appeal of film allowed directors to move away from religious and mythological themes. That year, under the direction of Krithiventi Nageswara Rao, Prema Vijayam, a film focusing on social issues, was released. Its success prompted the production of dozens of other immensely successful 'social films', notably 1939's Vandemataram and Maala Pilla. Touching on societal problems like the status of Untouchables and the practice of giving dowry, Telugu films increasingly focused on contemporary living: twenty-nine of the ninety-six films released between 1937 and 1947 had social themes.
The outbreak of World War II and the subsequent resource scarcity caused the British Raj to impose a limit on the use of filmstrip in 1943 to 11,000 feet, a sharp reduction from the 20,000 feet that was common till then. As a result, the number of films produced during the War was substantially lower than in previous years. Nonetheless, prior to the ban, an important shift occurred in the industry: independent studios formed, actors and actresses were signed to contracts limiting who they could work for, and films moved from social themes to folklore legends. 1942's Balanagamma typified these changes: the film featured fantasy elements of cultural lore, was produced by Gemini Studios, and its producers added a restricting clause to the lead actress' contract. By 1947, nearly all films were produced by studios with contracted actors.
Awards
- Santosham Film Awards
- Telugu Filmfare Awards
- Nandi Awards
Telugu films, which have won the National Film Award.
- Saptapadi, National award for best film on national integration (directed by K. Vishwanath)
- Rudraveena, National award for best film on national integration (directed by K. Balachander)
- Hope, National award for best film on social issues (directed by Satish Kasetty)
- Sankarabharanam, National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment (directed by K. Vishwanath)
Budgets
- (1 crore = 1,00,00,000 rupees, approximately US$250,124.68 on Feb 24, 2008.)
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 25-40 crores depending on the success of the movie. Popular actors like Megastar Chiranjeevi, Nandamuri Balakrishna, Akkineni Nagarjuna, Venkatesh, Pawan Kalyan,Mahesh babu, N. T. Rama Rao Jr., Ravi Teja, and Allu Arjun are some of the highest paid actors in Telugu Cinema. Singers: Telugu film industry has the reputation of producing many singers like Ghantasala (singer) and S. P. Balasubrahmanyam. S.P.B holds the record singing maximum number of songs (39000 songs approximately)
