With just 450-odd theatres in Telangana state, distributors of the Nizam region are worried a bit. They are urging the producer and president of the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce, Dil Raju to avert a clash of titans at the box office during the upcoming Sankranthi festival in January next. “Telangana theatres could accommodate just two films at a time during festival days but three and more would be a difficult task,” says a Telangana exhibitor-turned-distributor and adds, “Whereas, distributors in Andhra Pradesh could allow more films since they have over 750-odd theaters at their disposal during festivals," he adds.
With big-ticket films like ‘Guntur Kaaram’, ‘Saindhav’, ‘Naa Saami Ranga,’ ‘Eagle’ and ‘Hanu-Man’ set for a clash at ticket windows starting from January 12 and the next three days thereafter, Telangana distributors can’t afford to lose money. “More films will crunch the space for big films and could affect the opening collections. The only option to maximize collections for each film would be to allow one single film a day, then it could be better for all,” he points out. He admits that the success of a film largely depends on the novelty in the content and narration. “Cliched fare will suffer but stars have to be given some time to draw in initial crowds and then the audience could decide the fate of the movie, rather than having half-hearted releases and suffer,” he points out.
Additionally, Dil Raju has more stakes on Sankranthi releases this time since he is distributing three out of five movies including 'Guntur Kaaram,' 'Naa Saami Ranga' and 'Saindhav' in the Nizam region and he has to resolve the stalemate sooner than later. ‘Dil Raju has invested a lot in these three films and he has to recover his money faster. For that, he has negotiate with producers to end this roadblock to help himself as well as other distributors in Telangana state,’ he concludes.
