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T'wood heroes much better than Tamil stars: Gnanavel Raja

Fat fees demanded by heroes is killing Tamil films, says top producer.

There is much to learn from the Telugu film industry, says a leading producer of Tamil films. Producer KE Gnanavel Raja is convinced that the compensation paid to Telugu heroes for their films is far more reasonable and allows the industry to flourish whereas the weighty fees Tamil heroes charge is crippling the industry of money and creativity.

Speaking in the city at the promo meet of the Tamil version of Allu Arjun’s Naa Peru Surya Naa Illu India as En Peyar Surya En Veedu Indhiya, ace producer Gnanavel Raja lashed out at Tamil heroes. “We have to learn lot of good things from Telugu film industry. Their heroes are much better than Tamil heroes.

There’s a healthy atmosphere prevailing there. Tollywood heroes are down to earth and ask for a reasonable salary to match with their market. Those who have a market of Rs 100 crores charge only Rs 15 crores as their remuneration and take Rs 50 lakhs as advance. There’s a great understanding between the actors and producers. Hence, they spend the rest of Rs 65 crores in production to bring out a grand product. When you go to Bollywood, everyone is hailing the Telugu film industry. Even the Hindi dubbing rights of a T’town movie is going for '15 to 20 crores.”

“However, here in Kollywood, top heroes (some of them are most selfish) who have Rs 100 crore markets command a salary of '50 crores and take an advance of Rs 15 crores, so eventually the production goes out of control and films don’t run. Even a comedian who has appeared in just two films old demands Rs 2 lakh per day and imagine if we have combination frame (in a scene) of more than 10 artistes, the day’s salary alone will be closer to Rs 15 lakhs.”

The Telugu industry pays their writers well and they come out with good stories, which is totally lacking in Tamil. “In Tamil films there are no good writers. Directors double up as writers and rehash old stuff and the movie eventually turn out an average one.”

“The strike has given us awareness. Vishal and Karthi also spoke recently and are trying to sort out this particular issue. I already bought an office in Hyderabad. I can’t make back-to-back films in Tamil and burn my fingers. If they don’t change these things in Kolly wood, there is no other go but to shift to Tollywood. I can sit and do business comfortably and make money there”, is how Gnanavel signed off.

Realising the potential in Andhra and Telengana, Tamil heroes aggressively promote their dubbed versions there. In the same way, some Telugu stars and producers like Mahesh Babu, Prabhas (Baahubali) Rana Daggubati and Balakrishna do not mind exploring new avenues after their dubbed versions have been seen to do well in Tamil Nadu.

The latest one to arrive is Allu Arjun’s Naa Peru Surya Naa Illu India as En Peyar Surya En Veedu Indhiya, produced by Sridhar Lagadapadi. The movie is released in Chennai and TN market through Sakthi Film Factory.

( Source : Deccan Chronicle. )
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