Tell of Two Woods

The Telugu film industry, that was rocking for last so many years is now seems to face music. The Tollywood seems to have been entangled in the time wrap of its own heydays. This biggest industry of Andhra Pradesh has been facing hard days for some time now and going by its present performance, it will be futile to hope that Telugu films prove to be a treat for our eyes in the year 2007.
There are a number of films slated for release in coming months and they are worth Rs. 100 crores. There have been many upsets in the second half of the 2006, which include Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna starrers. These films have benn marred by the same storylines, inimaginative presentations. One senses as if the makers and performers of these flicks were taking audiences for a ride. This nullity or void on the part of makers has been aptly translated on the Box Office collections with only a handful of films making it in the hits category.
Traditionally Christmas time is considered as auspicious for the film releases as Diwali and in case of Telugu films, that period extends upto Sankranthi. Accordingly, this year from the December 14th, several films will try their luck. NTR Junior's ‘Rakhi’ has been released and it has been received well, if one goes by the initial reviews. Pawan Kalyan has been serching for a hit for last few years and he is throwing his hat with `Annavaram', joining them will be Allu Arjun's `Desamudhuru', Prabhas' `Yogi' which is a remake of Kananda blockbuster ‘Jogi’. Some reports cliam that ‘Yogi’ is to be dubbed in Hindi and one satellite channel has bought rights for the same. Also testing waters will be Balakrishna's `Maharadhi' whose release has been curiously postponed a couple of times now.
These films were bought for staggering prices, all put together are about Rs. 90 crores to Rs. 100 crores. But, given the penchant of formulas and clichés in Telugu films, it is feared that half of these films might bomb miserably unless they have something substantial to offer to the discerning viewers. Already distributors have burned their fingers with Chiranjeevi's `Stalin', Nagarjuna's `Boss' and Mahesh Babu's `Sainikudu', all of which failed to reach the expectations of viewers, though they have garnered good openings. On the other hand, it was the small budget films that made waves bringing happiness to distributors and viewers. Sunil's `Andala Ramudu' is said to have collected four times the investment. Jagapathi Babu's `Samanyudu', which started on a low key, has picked up considerably given its good content.

Says a report in the newspaper ‘Hindu’:

In the year 2006, only a handful of Telugu films hit the bull's eye and about hundred films bit the dust. Mahesh Babu's `Pokiri', Nagarjuna's `Sri Ramadasu', Siddharth's `Bommarillu', Sunil's `Andala Ramudu' and Venkatesh's `Lakshmi' were the only genuine hits this year while several big heroes, including Chiranjeevi and Balakrishna, were down in the dumps.

The biggest duds that incurred huge losses shattering all expectations include Pawan Kalyan's `Bangaram', Balakrishna's `Veerabhadra', NTR Junior's `Ashok', Nagarjuna's `Boss', Chiranjeevi's `Stalin', and Mahesh Babu's `Sainikudu'. Raviteja's `Khatarnak', Prabhas's `Pournami' that halted the juggernaut of producer M.S. Raju, Siddharth's `Chukkallo Chandrudu' were also on the flop list.
To make the matters worse, dubbed films from Kollywood and Hollywood rubbed salt on Telugu films’ wounds when they made a more money than these films. That prompted Telugu films producer’s association to take a drastic step. They decided to impose a ban on the dubbed Tamil films. This move also drew flank from some quarters, since it is many small producers, who use to dub and release the films. Many producers even went ahead as to question the rational behind this move and their argument was unambiguous: if big budget films can be remade and if they can have non-Telugu speaking artists, why can’t we have dubbed films in the first place.

While this year might end with a low note for Telugu films, in stark contrast stands the Tamil movie industry. Kollywood witnessed heightened activity and zeal this year, with many films turning out be profitable ventures. Especially pleasing thing for the industry is that many newcomers and dark horses proved to be winner. Kamal Haasan starrer 'Vettayadu Vilaiyadu' was the first success of the year. This film is still going strong in many parts of Tamil Nadu. On many centers, it has already completed 100 days. It is considered to be a blockbuster.Director K.S. Ravikumar, who had in past delivered hits like Muthu and Padayappa, give yet another hit film with ‘Varlaaru.’ This film initially was delayed much, so much so that nobody thought it would be released at all. But it was released and is running successfully. Its success might be gauged from the fact that after the packed houses run of the films in first few weeks, Superstar Rajnikanth called Ajith, the hero of the film and his wife Shalini on dinner and heaped praises on him. The film is now reckoned as the second coming of Ajith. Varlaaru got such a opening that it is considered to be the best opening a non-Rajini starrer can get.
One such film which kept cash registers ticking was ‘Imsai Arsan 23rd Pulikesi’. Though the film has comedian Vadivelu in the lead role, it enjoyed a good run at the box office. Besides these there are many films like Thimiru, Em magan and now Rendu, which were profitable and had an envious stint on the box office. That made the producers from AP to dub them in Telugu and various other films from Kollywood found themselves to be remade in Kannada. The reason for the success of these films, as I se it, is that they had some original storylines, some out of box presentation and above all, these movies brimmed with novelties. Indeed in the first half of the year, Tamil movie marked was flooded with underworld flick with the successive successes of Thalainagaram, Kokki and other movies. But fortunately enough the trend was averted in time and now industry is reaping bonuses. It is high time Tollywood take a leaf out of Kollywood and enjoy the gains that it truly deserve.

Read More

Bollywood 'Dhoom' in Germany

Bollywood cruises in Germany
That Bollywood is crossing new frontiers in geographic terms is nothing of a news now. But that it has created a much frenzy outside India is certainly a thing to be applauded. That frenzy at this point of time is evident much in Germany. The country will witness a gala show in about a month's time to celebrate the life Bollywood-way.
In Germany, many people know Bollywood through television only. And for Germans, Bollywood films are those in which songs, dance, laughter, crying and all other masalas are rolled into one. For them, now Bollywood is to be presented live in show called 'Bharati.' Which will showcase entire spectrum of the Indian movies from yesteryears to this day as they are. I read on a German website named ka-news.de the description of this show as follow (I have tried to translate it) : Bharati is a two hour long innovative work of art in fabric and tone, wherein 100 costumes made of expensive materials, brilliant fabric and vivid creations are employed. With these the Musical ensemble will tour all of Germany and Austria. The show will be held on 8 and 9 February 2007 in Baden-Baden.
In this show, 15 artists and Six singers will play the songs from popular Bollywood films, which will be traditional tunes but will be played on modern lines. This will be second show of this proportion in Europe. The first being Bombay Dreams some two years ago.

In fact, not only in Germany, but Bollywood films are gaining ground in Europe all over. Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner filmmakerYash Chopra has attributed this popularity to one reason. "People who see our films feel happy," he said in an interview at this year’s Berlin Film Festival.
The beats and strain of Bollywood music extravaganzas has become a booming economic and cultural force across Europe. Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan and Rithik Roshan starrer ‘Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gum’ was shown on a German TV channel last year. This was the first time a Bollywood film was aired such a way. And it was a instant hity. Germany has a very small ethnic Indian (if not Asian) population, but radio stations there frequently broadcast listeners’ favourite Hindi, Punjabi, Pakistani, Ghazals, Indian Pop, Filmi and Bhangra hits. Indeed, in Germany, a national television network is drawing high ratings with prime-time Bollywood film marathon weekends.
Dance schools around Europe are now besieged by people clamouring to sign up for courses in Bollywood-style dancing. Boutiques are all a-bling with glittery costume jewellery designed to make wearers look like Bollywood stars.
In Britain, Bollywood films have started to make more money at the box office than home-grown productions. 'Pardes' and 'Taal', produced by Subhash Ghai are two examples for this. This year, 69 Bollywood films have been released in Britain and 14 productions financed by the Indian film industry are being shot there.
Britain’s three largest multiplex chains - Odeon, Vue Cinemas and Cineworld - routinely screen Hindi films that appear in the nation’s top 15 film lists.
Hugely successful
The Bollywood fad was spearheaded in Germany by Berlin’s Radio Multi-Kulti station, which specializes in ethnic programming. But the fad took off when dance club deejays began mixing Bhangra beats on their turntables.
Arthouse cinemas featured Bollywood productions and that led to the first tentative prime-time TV viewings.
"They were hugely successful," says Joyce Mariel, a spokeswoman for RTL II television. The youth-oriented network aired "Good Times, Bad Times – Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham " and, against all odds, scored high ratings.
"We had an average 2 million households, which is very good for us," Mariel recalls. "And the best part of it all was that 73 per cent of the viewership was young women, which is an ideal target audience."
Following up that success, RTL II aired "Indian Love Story - Kal Ho Naa Ho " and then showed "Main Hoon Na" last spring. Through word-of-mouth publicity alone, each was a bigger hit than the previous one.

Read More

Needed : Indian lesson for Stallone

It happens now and then. Especially in moviedom. Stars who are accustomed to arclights can not breathe `out of focus.' They try to prove the world that they can still grab the focus of the public. Many a stars and superstars have fallen prey to this attitude and some have really been sussessful in the endeavour. An actor after carving a larger than life image for himself, is assigned a measured time as his careerspan based on the experiences of past performers. Only a Amithabh or Rajnikant here or Marlon Brando there can outlong this careerspan. Examples of men who either proved to the world that they can overlive their prescribed and expected careerspan or perished in the process of attempting this can be found dime a dozen. But someone crying out loud to grab attention of public, and that too in Hollywood, was never heard of. And when that long unexpected thing happened, it could not become so curious as name of the person behind that cry. That man is Sylvester Stallone.

One who is nourished on a regular dose of Bollywood, Hollywood and all other flicks, needs no introduction of Sylvester Stallone. The 'Rocky' of the Seventies and 'Rambo' of the eighties someshow was overshadowed in Nineties and afterwards. This action hero is now 60 years old and feels sidelined in Hollywood. He thinks it's time to show people that careers of guys like him can last long after most people retire, and he sets out to prove it in his new movie, "Rocky Balboa." "People are living longer. They are healthier. They have more ambition, more energy, yet society is telling them to move aside," Stallone told Reuters. The movie "Balboa," will be released in US theaters on December 20. It is the sixth movie in 'Rocky' series that began with 1976's "Rocky." Stallone famously raised about $1 million to make that low-budget film based on a screenplay he wrote and would not sell to Hollywood's studios unless he was the star. It subsequently went on to become a cult hit and established Stallone as the Superstar even before Rambo appeared on the scene. It also gave birth to various copied movies in India and elsewhere, the notable being `Boxer' starring Mithun Chakraborthy and 'Main Intequam Loonga,' a Dharmendra starrer.

The original movie tells of a hapless boxer, Rocky "The Italian Stallion" Balboa, who overcomes huge odds to better his life. It became a surprise smash hit, earning over $117 million at US box offices, ($362 million in today's dollars), winning the Oscar for best film, and making Stallone a worldwide star. Four other movies followed the Philadelphia boxer through various stages -- career success, family troubles and bankruptcy. Stallone said the lovable lug has been championed by fans because he is humble, can be self-deprecating and is sometimes fearful of what life offers. "He has an almost childlike naivete in the body of a very courageous fighter," Stallone said. Stallone said he wanted a nobler ending to the "Rocky" series than in 1990's "Rocky V," in which Balboa fights a young boxer he trained to help save himself from financial collapse. Stallone, who wrote and directed "Balboa," said he spent 6 1/2 years trying to get the movie made and most Hollywood studio executives scoffed at the idea. Eventually new management came in at the MGM studio which owns the "Rocky" films, and they helped Stallone raise $20 million -- a small amount by studio standards -- to make the movie.

People in India, especially those in media and movies, tend to teach us about the excellence of Hollywood. But apart from the unacademic lure of the Indian movies, developments like these show that Hollywood can take a leaf out of us. We have more than one persona who have showed time and again that they need not go through tests once their mettle is unarguably proved. Take Amitabh Bachchan for example. The man who ruled Hindi movie industry for more than two decades, is now 65. Full five years more than Stallone. But he is still busiest actor in country. And if Stallone was a king in the Ring, Amitabh was the Shahenshah of action. But after a point in his career, he remained out of glare of cameras for about two years. Then he came again. Not 'Don'ning his usual 'Angry Young Man' image but with a reinvented look of a sophisticated elder. Welded with the family dramas filled with Indian ethos, this elderly actor has now transgressed to yet unreached territories for Hindi cinema. Amitabh's resentful young actor might have been popular in Egypt and Mauritius, but his new avataar is now buzzword in places like Germany.

A second example is that of Southern superstar Rajnikant. This actor is playing almost unifocal roles for more than twenty-five years, and still going places. He is the second most paid star in Asia (Pay: Approximately two million rupees per movie.) He had also at times put off his movie assignments, but every time he did so, managed to return with a bang. And with a bigger bang for that. He has not altered his image for a long time, but has experimented with the themes in the same set ups. That has endeared him to the public more and more. He did not nor does not require to say to public, that he wants to prove 'a certain point' throgh his projects. Besides all these, Indian movie world is filled with people who have defied their age and set the screen on fire. Dileep Kumar, a stalwart in his own right, worked wonders in Saudagar in 1991, when he was more than 75 years old. Mohanlal, Mammooty, Chiranjeevi, Nagarajun...these are some of the actors in Indian films, who are past their forties and in some cases, even past their 50s but are not only have a footing in industry but also giving young performers a run for the money. They are playing usual Hero in the run-of-the-mill ventures as well as doing some memorable, so called 'meaningful' roles. That's why when Stallone claims to try to prove something, it sounds so unconvincing. And to return to his basic film for such an attempt is most fallacious. 'Balboa' might come out as a good movie. But to relate it to one man's attempt to gain a footholding sucks the enjoyment out of it. Instead of banking on such fallacies, he should go on striking and shooting, the way we all liked him till now. C'mmon man, show must go on.

Read More

Figuring out the beauty ...

It was in the month of September that the issue of skinny models first cropped up. As an Indian, who is brought on the ‘Aestheticism’ of Kamasutra, I always abhored these models. I always liked the models who have on their body right curves at the right place. That’s why when a buxom actress like Kate Winslet speaks against such models, it must assume some significance.
Oscar-nominated Kate Winslet has said that she refused to have magazines in her house because she was worried about her six-year-old daughter Mia reading them.‘’It’s only a matter of time before she becomes aware of it and it frightens the life out of me,’’ she told the BBC at the weekend.Winslet is not the only one to worry about the dietary craziness of teen girls who want to make it big in modelling.
Sometime ago, the mother of a Brazilian fashion model who died from complications of anorexia made an emotional appeal for parents to take better care of aspiring young models. The death of Ana Carolina Reston (21) followed the death in August of Uruguayan model Luisel Ramos of heart failure during a fashion show in Montevideo. Reston died in November from a generalised infection caused by anorexia, an eating disorder in which sufferers obsessively deprive themselves of food in pursuit of an ultra-slim look. Reston weighed only 40 kg and was about 5 feet 8 inches tall.
"Take care of your children ... no money is worth the life of your child, not even the most famous (fashion) brand is worth this," Miriam, mother of Ana Carolina Reston told to a Brazillian newspaper. She said her daughter had been trying to help her family with the money she made as a model. Miriam spoke on national television and to local media to highlight the tragedy. She said she had pleaded with her daughter to eat more and to see a doctor.
Spain barred models below a certain weight from a September fashion show in Madrid. Italian government and its fashion chiefs are working on a manifesto to crack down on the use of ultra-thin teenagers on the catwalk.Britain’s culture minister called for ‘’stick-thin’’ models to be banned from the catwalk during London Fashion Week and the Indian health minister has warned that the number of young girls ‘starving’ themselves to be thin is ‘rocketing’. But these attempte bore no apparent fruits . The issye remains hanged even today even so it was two months ago.This debate is going for a long time and the fashion world is divided over the issue, with many designers and models shrugging off concerns that ultra-thin models may encourage eating disorders in girls and young women.
Joining Winslet in this issue is Billie Piper, who starred in the hit British television series Doctor Who. ‘’What I resent is that there is an image of perfection that is getting thinner and thinner.’’ Piper has said. She also said that her 13-year-old sister was already worried about her figure.‘’I think the whole size zero debate is disgusting,’’ she said in the upcoming edition of Glamour magazine, referring to the clothes size for the very thin.
Why aspiring models take to starving themselves is an open question. It is true that a large chunk of the media, especially ad-world gives preference to ultra-thin models, but anyone with a sense would wouch that nothing proves a treat to the eye than a well bestowed human figure. A well sized woman’s body tops the list of the beatiful sights. If commercialization snatches, or tries to santch away this age old treat of the mankind, it is bound to fail. But the success hungry models fall prey to false notions and instead of a bountiful figure, ‘Round Figure’ assumes more importance for them.
This brings to anvil a major question : Do we succumb to the lure and hype created by commercial mediamen, who have access to the instruments that create an unnecessary hype around the people who deserve least. Do we need someone to tell us who or what looks beautiful? These skinny models apart, even 36-24-36 type standardizaiton of the beautiful women that has been kinda accepted by all and sundry all over the world appears to be one more way of the American way of categorization.
It is heartning to see that eminent women of all types are coming forward to protest against this categorization. Beauty, as we see it, must come out of the figures.

Read More

Why Amitabh is Big B

Big B's Bindass Bol

Hindi film superstar Amitabh Bachchan is known as Big B in India. It has something to do with his stature as the most successful actor in Hindi filmdom. As a man who has ruled Bollywood without any challenge for more than a decade, whose name spells profit for distributors and who have proved time and again, what length he can to achieve his goals, he deserves the title the fans and industry people have given to him. But it is his thinking mind that gives more credence to his already established position as the numero uno man of Hindi films. Any issue pertaining to Bollywood remains unresolved until BigB has aired his opinion on the same. And man, what thoughts he speaketh out. Sometimes he speaks what others in the industry are either afraid of speaking or can't speak up, being utterly unable to grasp the reality. One gets to know why Amitabh was once called 'One Man Industry'. This guy is the only thinking block around. Others might feign intellectuality, the wisdom comes only from the knowledgeable ones.

Given this background, his latest statement attributing Bollywodd success to economic progress of India goes on to be one more example of his amazing many sided persona.
"The burgeoning economic progress of the country has given a huge fillip to Indian films globally," Mr. Bachchan has been quoted as saying. This is not the first time that he has sighted some non filmy reasons as the base of success for the movies. It is a different matter altogether that many of these films featured Big B as in prominent roles and those who flooded theatres to watch his movies would vouch something else. Some two years ago, Mr. Bachchan had said that the frustration and anger in Indian youth after emergency was one of the reason for unbelievable success of his consecutive films. By doing so, he established himself as a thinking artist in Bollywood, a rare commodity in itself. His reasoning at that time was as valid as it is this time.
There is no denying of the fact that after the emergency episode in 1975, Indian youth and people as a whole were full of resentment. They found their 'Exhaust valve' in Big B. His portrayal of angry youth, full of vengeance taking revenge on society, was easily lapped up for this reason. Diwar, Lawaris, Trishul...these were some of the films that showed a fierce Amitabh with 'Vendetta' as his sole agenda. This roles earned him the epitaph of 'Angry Young Man.'
But this could not be the success of Amitabh movies, as is proven by the recent run of his films on various Satellite Channels of his films. His popularity lies not in political reason or situations surrounding him but the solid base of his personality.
Now he has explained away economic growth of the country as the reason for the stunning run of Bollywood movies in overseas market. "I always believed that when a country does well economically, everything about it gets noticed - its dress, culture, language and the films", the 64-year-old actor said while launching the album of his latest film "Baabul" which will have a world premiere on Dec 8.
"The success of Bollywood films like Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna shows that the Indian audience is also beginning to mature and are prepared to watch films with different topics and different subjects," he said.
Mr. Bachchan was also categorical about venturing into Hollywood. Though revered in India and many Third World countries more than any actor from Hollywood, he has been asked time and again about working in Hollywood or winning an Oscar. This time also, asked whether he planned to move over to Hollywood films, Bachchan said such presumption gave the impression that acting in Hollywood films was the ultimate thing.
"We are happy with Bollywood films and we would like to see good films being produced in Bollywood which are universally acclaimed." Answering a question on different types of roles he had been playing during his illustrious career, the "Big B" said that "we move with the time and adopt ourselves to the changing times, values and perception." "May be a film like ‘Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna’ which deals with extra marital relations might not have been so successful a few years back."

Read More

Billa makes a French Bang

It seems that Rajnikant’s magic is only spreading by each passing day. His 'Muthu' captivated the imaginations of Japanese audience. A certain French film, which is yet to be released, ‘Pret moi toi main’ features Rajnikant’s fight scene in Muthu. The scene is featured for 150 seconds where the main heoine of the film watches this clip. Then she tells her friend, “This is Muthu, a must watch Indian movie.”
Now it is the turn of 'Billa' to floor Western audiences. France’s deputy director of Film France Commission Nationale, Frank Priot, who was in Chennai recently, said the comedy sequences in Billa are particularly ‘‘very interesting and pretty good.’’ He has picked up a few DVDs of the same to watch it all over again with friends in France.
'Billa', which was a remake of the original Amitabh bachchan starrer Don, was released in 1980. It is hailed as Rajnikant’s second film coming and was a huge box office hit. Songs from this film are considered a hit even today particularly `My name is Billa’, is most famous. There are plans to remake the film, and Ajith may play Rajni’s role.Priot was also impressed with 'Dhool' and 'Ghajini'. He watched the Suriya starrer 'Ghajini' in a theatre and liked it so much that he has bought the DVD. Who knows, there may be remakes of those as well. Already, Anniyan, last year’s blockbuster was dubbed into French and it is the first Indian film to be dubbed in French.

Read More

Maestro’s sublime act

Kudos to Illayaraja. The maestro has done again what people in film industry are seldom expected to do. The man who has mesmerized generatios with his sweet voice has shown that he can stand for his convictions when it matters.
Music director Ilayaraja and director Gnanarajasekaran shared an excellent rapport. Ilayaraja’s works in Moga Mul and Bharathy, both directed by Gnanarajasekaran, won several accolades.
Obviously Gnanarajasekaran approached Ilayaraja for his current directorial venture Periyar, a movie based on the life of the revolutionary thinker in Tamilnadu. Actor Satyaraj and Khushboo are expected to act in the film. But the news is that Ilayaraja has declined to work in the movie. Eventually the baton has been passed to Vidyasagar.
According to Ilayaraja, he has a great respect for Periyar. "Certain ideas of Periyar still holds relevant. However he was a known atheist. But my life is total contrast to the ideas and thoughts of Periyar. Hence I thought it would not be appropriate for me to work in the movie and more over I though I cannot do justice to my job," he has been quoted as saying.
Fotr the non starters, E.V. Ramasami Naicker, also known as E.V. Ramaswami, EVR, Thanthai Periyar, or just Periyar, was an atheist, social reformer, an activist, and the founder of Dravidar Kazhagam and the Self-Respect Movement in Tamil Nadu, India.
EVR’s given name was Ramaswami. He was from a prominent Kannada Naidu caste, a community that is descended from the Nayak rulers of Tamil Nadu. Hence he is called E. V. Ramaswami Naicker. "Periyar" means ‘respected one’ or an ‘elder’ in Tamil.
EVR was an atheist. He is well known for his antitheistic statement, "He who created god was a fool, he who spreads his name is a scoundrel, and he who worships him is a barbarian." He created a cult of hatred against Brahmins. In fact the most important legacy of EVR in Tamil Nadu is his Anti-Brahmanism and the effect it had on individual Brahmins. He never made any attempt to distinguish between good or bad Brahmins. He used Ganesha Chathurthi (a Hindu festival celebrating Ganesha, one of the popular forms of God in Hinduism), to desecrate and publicly destroy statues of the Gods. Though he was an atheist, he was criticized as a minority appeaser, since he choose to criticise only Hinduism and was soft on minority religions like Christianity and Islam.
Ilaiyaraaja, on the other hand is known for his spiritual leanings. A deeply person, he has composed for over 800 film in various languages like Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi. His Thiruvasagam - A Symphonic Oratorio has made history in sales, in Tamil Nadu. The audio distributors Well Gate say they have sold 35000 CDs and 25000 cassettes of the album.

http://www.raaja.com/biography.html

Read More

A Dubious Feat

Sometime ago while commenting upon an UNI story I had written, that dubbed films diminish enjoyment of a particular film. The better option will be to have subtitles instead. Those were my personal opinions and they did not required to be corroborated. On the contrary, I was aware of the fact that a large number of audienc go for such films. Particularly enjoyed from this lot are action movies! Now this fact is proved by a recent report from far south. A prominent English eveninger from Tamilnadu has reported that Telugu dubbed movies are gaining ground once again in the state. Here is an excerpt:
‘‘A decade ago, a host of Telugu films dubbed into Tamil flooded the theatres in the State. Movies of Dr. Rajashekhar, Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna and Vijayashanthi were dubbed and released simultaneously. A handful of them managed a decent run.
Over the years, patronage for such films reduced considerably and virtually came to a standstill with remakes being the norm. In contrast, Tamil moves dubbed to Telugu started to rule the roost in Andhra. The success of Ghajini, Chandramukhi, Poguru (Thimiru in Tamil), 7G Brindavan Colony (7G Rainbow Colony in Tamil) is example.
The popularity of Tamil films being dubbed forced Telugu producers to contemplate a ban on the same. However, after a long gap, Kollywood seems to be veering towards dubbed Telugu films again. Three Telugu movies are ready for release in Tamil now. Chiranjeevi’s Jai Chiranjeeva, Mahesh Babu’s Arjun and Lawrence Raghavendra and Prabhu Deva-starrer Style are slated for release.
Jai Chiranjeeva stars Chiranjeevi, Bhoomika and Sameera Reddy while Arjun features Mahesh Babu and Shriya and the whole movie is set in Madurai. Mahesh Babu, Keerthi Reddy are playing brother and sister and Shreya is in female lead. Prakshraj and Saritha are in other roles. Most of the faces are familiar for Tamil audiences.
According to a prominent distributor, they are confident that these movies will do well. They all have big star cast and a story line, which would be to the liking of the audience. The fate of these movies will set a new path for several other Telugu films waiting to be dubbed Tamil.”
This pondering about the dubbed films did not catch my fancy until I watched Roja recently. This Mani Rathnam directed Arvind Swamy, Madhu starrer was a huge hit in about 1992. Originally released in Tamil, it was released later in dubbed versions in Telugu and Hindi. I was one of those who could not help but mesmerized by this flick in 1993 and there appeared no flaw then in the movie. Just last month I watched it on a channel and realized first time what a crime a dubbed film commits to original. Here I talk of Roja because it was a hit and never have I came across any comment about the quality of the dubbing in this film.
In the movie, the main protagonist Roja is a village girl. Draped in the scenic beauty of rural Tamilnadu, Mani Rathnam has etched out a visual poetry on the silver screen. Now when you see the movie, the girls wearing Pudavai, Selai and men wearing Veshti with elaan, sandalwood powder tilak seen prominently on their forehead are seen speaking in Bihari dialect and accent without slightest hesitation!

This movie was not the only one doing such a thing. The same feat was achieved in the Kamal Haasan movie, Appu Raja where Apoorva Sahodargal was brought on Hindi screen with dubbed dialogues. The lead actor and actress in the film, Kamal Haasan and Revathi respectively, roam singing in the Nilgiri jungle, which has a distinct Southern view in it. But all the characters in the film refer to the place as Lonavala, which is a tourist spot in Maharastra. And all types of trees but Nigiris crowd Lonavala. The same fate fell on Muthu, which is an all time hit of Superstar Rajinikant. Its dubbing is so lackluster that an important aspect of the film is twisted in the process. In the original, the main villain of the film is the brother of the Jamindar’s mother, while in Muthu Maharaja; he is shown as a friend of the Jamindar’s father.
The state of the dubbed films being so, it is really surprising then that they are so popular in the territories where they are exhibited. Lack of quality films in the local language and an appetite for some good films on the part of the people in the region might be a reason for the same. I have seen this curious trend in Hindi nowadays with CDs and DVDs of films popular Southern actors like Chiranjeevi, Nagarjuna, Balkrishna, Venkatesh, Vijay, Vikram, Arjun and many others are being sold. Footpaths of major cities in Maharashtra are full of these and they are being sold in no time.
As said above, quality of dubbing of these films is nothing said the better. Still audience tend to enjoy, at least it seems going by the way they are growing in numbers and people enquiring about them. There are people whom I know, who see these films regularly, and they swear that they do not get the stuff in Bollywood movies. That explains one way the success of dubbed ones. But that has not given recognition to the people concerned with original films as they have received in Telugu.
The dubbed films are in vogue for a long time in Andhra Pradesh where film industry is a major player in the whole of industrial sector in the state. There dubbed films as well as remakes continued to go hand in hand with the original ones and all these have competed each other without whining. But a recent decision of the leaders of the AP film industry might change this scenario. They have decided to impose a ban on the dubbed film releasing in the state and the decision is being implemented from 13th Nov. This year. The move is likely to have an effect not only on Hindi films, but also English, Tamil, Malayalam and other regional languages films as well.
Even James Bond films have been released in their dubbed avatar in the past and they have collected the money as much as Telugu ones. Last year, many Tamil films like Anniyan, Chandramukhi, Thambi, Thimiru, SandaiKozhi etc. were dubbed in Telugu and received more than warm welcome by the Telugu audience. The recent decision might hamper the prospects of new arrivals, but none the same it will surely pave the way for remakes. Already AP film industry is full of rehabilitated Bollywood actors, music directors and above all actresses. If the audience is ready to accept them as much as their own artists, how can artisans keep them at a hand’s bay?
This decision coming on the heels of the success of dubbed Tamil films, might be an attempt to save the Telugu industry from being washed away by the Tamil films, but it will certainly keep the audience with some options ready for them in the form of new films and that too good ones. An audience subsisting on a large number of half-baked stuff will always be worse than the one willing to have a limited but good material at its disposal.

Read More