Rising producers of Tollywood held a press meet today to voice the concerns and challenges they are facing due to the ongoing strike of workers. Producers SKN, Dheeraj Mogilineni, Razesh Danda, Chaitanya from Prime Show, Sharath from Chai Bisket, Anurag, Madhura Sreedhar, Maheshwar Reddy, Rakesh Varre, and others attended the event and shared the problems.
Producer SKN shared, “90% of the industry consists of small films. We don’t hold positions or power – we only have our voices. This press meet is not about groupism but about expressing our concerns. Only the one laying the egg knows the pain. You want a 30% hike? Take 50% if needed. But can you guarantee we’ll recover our investments through theatrical revenues or any other means?
We carry the burden of arranging finances and meeting release deadlines, yet we often return home with empty pockets and only the satisfaction of being a producer. We are not rising producers – we are burning producers. We appear dignified on the outside but are struggling within.
He added, “Only a handful of actors earn hundreds of crores. Our hero, Kiran Abbavaram, stood by Chennai Love Story and supported us understanding the situation. How many such actors exist? In this scenario, how can we even think of asking for a 30% wage hike? Ticket price hikes apply only to a handful of films.
“Each craft must decide where it stands. You can’t keep asking for rights while ignoring responsibilities. If the unions don’t change, we’ll work with those who fit our budgets. Making films is not about comfort – it’s about passion. He concluded by urging the governments of both Telugu states to look into the difficulties faced by small producers,” said SKN.
Adding to that Producer Chaitanya Reddy of Prime Show shared her concern on the ongoing strike that’s seriously affecting small producers. She said. “The situation of producers is dire, not just here but across the globe. Filmmaking is suffering everywhere. Everyone is working with hope. Forcing producers to hire a fixed number of people, instead of allowing them to choose, isn’t right. Producers create employment. No producer is truly happy right now. I hope this issue is resolved soon.”
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