D Suresh Babu Almost Rules Out Big Stars Doing More Than 100 films

With seasoned star Nagarjuna launching his 100th film with Ra Karthick and megastar Chiranjeevi gearing up for his 171th film director Srikanth Odela, Balakrishna announcing his 111th film with director Gopichand Malineni, Venkatesh still stands at 77 films and has a long way to reach the century mark. “I am not sure whether Venkatesh will reach that 100-film landmark since he needs to do another 23 movies, and it looks difficult,” says producer D Suresh Babu, brother of Venkatesh.

He adds that the times of legendary actors like NTR, ANR and Krishna were very different. “They used to do 8 to 10 films a year, so NTR crossed 254 films, while Krishna could cross the 300-film mark by doing 15 films a year. Their energies and thinking patterns were different,” he recalls. “I remember once Bollywood actor Jeetendra telling me that an actor should not waste a single day and should work for 365 days. That kind of passion and thinking belonged to another era.”

According to Suresh Babu, film counts were higher between the 1950s and the 1990s but dipped later. “Chiranjeevi used to do four films a year, while Nagarjuna would do two or three, and Balakrishna too maintained a similar pace. But things have changed now. Big stars are looking for quality over quantity as years go by,” he explains.

It is evident that the next generation of stars like Prabhas, Mahesh Babu, Allu Arjun, Jr NTR and Ram Charan have filmographies below 30 titles despite being in the industry for over two decades. “Earlier, some stars worked to run their households, while others were passionate about being in front of the arc lights most days of the year. The second generation grew up in a more comfortable financial space and began slowing down, choosing only films that would truly excite fans,” he points out.

He also notes that many stars now have business interests and work only 6 to 8 months a year. “Every actor has the right to his work-life balance and to work without unnecessary pressure, unlike the earlier generation,” he adds.

With Telugu cinema expanding its fan base globally, superstars are increasingly cautious, ensuring the script and execution are perfect before the film hits theatres. “Sometimes VFX work delays releases, and multi-language casting also extends timelines. Shooting more in studios won’t reduce film counts either, because most big films are already back to studio setups. But stars are doing only one or two films in two years, and that trend is unlikely to change,” he says.

He concludes that even stars in Bollywood and Kollywood have fewer releases now, as hundreds of crores ride on each project. “Patience has become key to grabbing audience attention,” he sums up.