Pan-India Turns Painful for Telugu Talent, Survival Tough

As more Telugu films aggressively chase the pan-India dream, local talent is increasingly being sidelined. Actors from Tamil, Hindi, Kannada, and Malayalam industries are being preferred across categories, leaving Telugu artists struggling for opportunities. Director Teja has voiced strong concern over the trend, bluntly calling it “pain-India” for Telugu talent.

“Pan-India is turning out to be pain-India, as hundreds of Telugu artists have been deprived of work and livelihood over the last few years,” says Teja, who is currently working on a socio-fantasy film featuring debutant actors Amitov and Sitara Ghattamaneni. He stresses that his upcoming project will feature 100 percent Telugu actors—including character roles, comedians, sidekicks, and even the villain.

“I want to break the myth that casting actors from multiple languages is essential for success. My film will prove that Telugu talent alone is more than capable,” he asserts.

Teja acknowledges that casting a top heroine or villain from Bollywood or Kollywood has long been a common practice. However, he believes the situation has worsened dramatically. “Today, even comedians, character artists, and friendly roles are being filled by actors from other languages,” he says.

Pointing to the Telugu industry’s own talent pool, Teja adds, “We have over 1,000 registered actors—both men and women—in the Movie Artistes Association. Many of them are talented and proven performers. If this obsession with an unproven pan-India idea continues, where will these artists find work?”

Actually, the pan-India wave gained momentum after the massive success of Baahubali 2, RRR, Pushpa: The Rise, Kalki 2898 AD, and HanuMan. However, he notes that several other films—such as Thandel, HIT 3, Lucky Bhaskar, Mirai, They Call Him OG, Hari Hara Veera Mallu, Andhra King Taluka, and Akhanda 2—were heavily promoted in Hindi but failed to make a meaningful impact beyond the Telugu states. “I don’t want to take names, but only a handful of films truly connected with non-Telugu audiences across India. Still, the obsession hasn’t subsided. Filmmakers are blindly inflating budgets, losing money, and in the process, killing Telugu talent,” he laments.

Teja cites Kantara as a standout example, noting how the Kannada film became a nationwide phenomenon with largely local actors. “Malayalam cinema too has been earning global acclaim by trusting its own talent,” he points out.

The concern appears valid, as actors from other industries are increasingly dominating Tollywood. Tamil actors such as SJ Suryah, Samuthirakani, VTV Ganesh, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Vijay Sethupathi, and Karunakaran; Hindi actors Sanjay Dutt, Bobby Deol, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and Upendra Limaye; Malayalam actors Joju George, Shine Tom Chacko, and Fahadh Faasil; and Kannada stars Shivarajkumar and Upendra are now regular fixtures in Telugu films. Many reportedly command fees ranging from ₹2 crore to ₹10 crore.

Defending the casting of multi-language actors, producer Abhishek Agarwal argues that the right casting enhances a film’s impact. “We had Anupam Kher play a blind professor in Karthikeya 2. His role, explaining the glory of Lord Krishna, elevated the story,” he says. “We have again roped him in for our upcoming film, India House, where he plays freedom fighter Shyamji Krishna Varma.”

Agarwal adds, “Telugu films have broken regional and language barriers. To attract Hindi distributors and OTT platforms, casting actors from different industries becomes important. Barring a few misses, Telugu cinema is being discussed worldwide—we should be proud of that. We are racing ahead.”