The Telugu film industry is undoubtedly a big source of business. While the producers invest money to make films, it is the artistes and technicians who bring in the revenues. In some cases, their remuneration crosses the one crore mark, so their managers benefit from the commission they get as their fee.
Actor Rana Daggubati now has an eye on those revenues and recently announced his business venture — a talent management company KWAN — where he is the South head. Coming from a big filmi family, with good contacts nationally too, the actor is confident that he can rope in many actors and replace managers completely.
Personal managers of top Tollywood actors and actresses take care of their film projects, dates and even their remunerations. In fact, most actresses who want to enter Tollywood hire a manager to get film projects. Top actresses like Anushka Shetty, Nayantara, Rakul Preet Singh, Tamannaah, Samantha, Nithya Menen, Raashi Khanna, Meher and many others are looked after by their personal managers. The same applies to most Tollywood actors too. Sometimes, a single manager takes care of four to five artistes.
Typically, the manager gets a 20 to 30 per cent commission from the artiste’s remuneration. Though the artistes sign a contract with the filmmakers, they work on mutual understanding and go by their manager’s word. In case the producer or director wants to adjust some dates for the shoot, they usually speak to the managers.
Now, Rana is out to change the system. He wants to make everything professional. Instead of managers, Rana’s company wants to handle artistes’ projects, dates and their businesses.
He is confident that he will be able to bring together artistes not only from Tollywood but also from other South Indian film industries. After the actor’s announcement, there has been a lot of discussion in Tollywood as to how many artistes will go with Rana and how many will stick to their managers.
“The Mumbai film industry itself is in a transitional phase, with actors, technicians and investors actively seeking new markets and content across the globe. Partnering with KWAN is primarily to tap these opportunities for the Southern film industry,” says Rana about the venture. He adds that he has personally witnessed this when he had met Hindi director Karan for the wide release of Baahubali.
“Baahubali made the initial transition a success and now a similar model is being worked on Ghazi. Our experience with Dharma Productions and studios like Disney, Eros, and Viacom has confirmed the shift from traditional studio model approach to the professional Hollywood style of film management in the South,” he says.
But when contacted, although not wanting to come on record, local managers say they aren’t bothered by the new venture. “It won’t work here as actors need personal care rather than just a professional environment. Sometimes schedules change, adjustments of dates has to be done — all this happens on a personal basis. Tollywood relies more on a good relationships,” says a manager.
Not just Rana, director Puri Jagannadh too has joined hands with actress Charmme to promote young talent. They focus mainly on actresses from Mumbai, who they want to introduce to the South. Some actresses have already got projects, with Puri himself giving a chance to them in his films. Aditi Arya, the female lead in his Ism was brought in through Puri Connects — their venture.
Viren, head of Rana’s company, says that talent management is not just about promoting actors. He says, “We are handling around 200 technicians — writers, directors, etc — from the South, along with actors. We create projects and are taking Telugu cinema to international markets, which a personal manager can’t do.”
The big question, though, is if Rana can change the functioning of the industry and make it a more professional one? Says Rana, “Naga Chaitanya's film with my company is the first step in this direction. This allows actors and studios to explore new content and newer genres. KWAN will create more opportunities for filmmakers in the South and will also allow stars from the South to explore new genres going forward. Overall, it creates a greater ecosystem for the industry to expand globally.”
Actor Raja Ravindra, who manages actors like Sunil, Manchu Vishnu, Aadi Pinisetty, Raj Tarun, Nikhil and Jayasudha says, “It is good if everything is professional, but it’s not that easy. Rana is popular and has good contacts, so a few may team up with him. But it’s not easy to handle stars. Upcoming actors and actresses who want projects might join him immediately.”
He adds that he is not worried that the actors he works with will move away. “Lead actors want care by the minute and need someone solely dedicated to them. So, I don’t think established actors will turn to this new way immediately,” he says.
