Telangana Ban Would Impact Pawan Kalyan's Movie Collections

Reigning star and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan has landed in controversy after Telangana Cinematography Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy warned of strict action if the actor-politician does not retract his recent comments. “If Pawan Kalyan does not tender an unconditional apology, his movies will not be permitted to be screened anywhere in Telangana,” he said. He added, “It is not Telangana’s evil eye; in fact, under Andhra leaders’ rule, our people had to drink fluoride water for 60 years.”

Even ministers like Vakati Srihari criticised Kalyan’s remarks, saying his comments lacked maturity and were aimed at “political mileage.” According to him, Kalyan was “unable to digest” Telangana’s progress since its formation.

Industry bodies, however, hope the issue does not spill over into films. “I wish Telangana politicians don’t mix up Pawan Kalyan’s political statement with his movies since they are two different zones,” says T Prasanna Kumar, general secretary of the Telugu Film Producers Council. “Pawan Kalyan has the biggest market in Telangana and has delivered record-breaking hits like Tholi Prema, Kushi, Atharintiki Dharedi, and even his recent film OG collected over Rs 40 crore in Telangana state,” he adds.

The controversy stems from Kalyan’s remarks last week while inspecting coconut plantations damaged by seawater in the Konaseema region. Admiring the region’s greenery, he said it had long been appreciated by people from Telangana since the state’s bifurcation in 2014. He then suggested that the destruction of coconut groves might be due to “drishti” or the evil eye — a statement that many interpreted as blaming Telangana. “I don’t know the context, but political views should not curb his film career, which has been strong for the last two decades, barring a few duds,” Prasanna Kumar observes.

In industry terms, the Telangana region (referred to as the Nizam area in business circles) contributes nearly 40 percent of a Telugu film’s revenues, with the remaining 60 percent coming from Andhra and Ceded regions. “Nizam collections are key for producers to recover their investments. Telangana alone, with over 500 theatres, contributes 40 percent of the overall revenues in the Telugu states,” he explains. He also notes that Pawan Kalyan has consistently outperformed many contemporaries in Telangana, appealing to audiences across castes and communities and achieving a numero uno status in the region.

Highlighting the clear distinction between political outcomes and movie collections, a senior distributor cites an example: “Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam won only two seats from Telangana in 2009, but his son Ram Charan’s Magadheera, which released just months later, smashed records and collected more than Rs 22 crore share in the region. Telangana people have clearly separated politics from movies, and I hope Telangana politicians do the same,” he concludes.