The digital and non-theatrical rights of Indian films have seen a huge rise in recent years post Covid. All the star actors have hiked their fees because of this and the budgets of Telugu films reached new heights. The makers are pocketing big through the digital rights even before the release of their films. But there is a huge vacuum because of the substantial hike in the rights. The makers of Project K are quoting huge for the digital rights (including all languages) and digital giants like Amazon Prime and Netflix are in deep shock. This is the biggest ever quote in the history of Indian cinema.

The digital giants are not in a mood to acquire the digital rights of Project K for such high prices. DVV Danayya who is bankrolling Pawan Kalyan’s OG is said to have quoted a huge price for the digital deal and the digital platform decided to step back from the deal. The same is the case with the digital rights of Pushpa: The Rule. The makers are quoting very huge prices. Though these deals will be closed at a later date, the digital giants are not ready to shell out huge amounts. The makers will have to crack the deals at the earliest so that they would receive hefty advances from the digital platforms and these amounts will help the makers to complete the shoots of biggies.

For now, there is a stress among the producers of biggies because of the overhyped digital deals.

The year 2022 saw the Telugu film industry losing some of its biggest stars. The deaths of superstar Krishna and ‘rebel star’ Krishnam Raju came as big blows to Tollywood, and the end of the year brought the news of the passing of veteran actors Kaikala Satyanarayana and Chalapathi Rao.

The year began on tragic note with the death of actor-producer Ramesh Babu, elder brother of popular actor Mahesh Babu, in January.

Ramesh Babu was known for films such as Bazaar Rowdy, Mugguru Kodukulu and others. After his retirement from acting in 1997, he had become a producer.

April saw the death of three veteran Tollywood personalities. Director Sarath passed away at the age of 74 after battling cancer. Sarath, who made his directorial debut in 1986 with Chadastapu Mogudu, made over 20 films in his career. He predominantly worked with actors Nandamuri Balakrishna and Suman.

While he delivered superhits such as Vamshanikokkadu, Sulthan, Peddannayya, and Vamshoddharakudu, he directed Suman in films Bava Bavamaridi, Peddinti Alludu, and Chinna Alludu.

The same month, veteran actor M. Balayya passed away at the age of 94. He had acted in more than 300 films and was popular for playing the role of elderly and other important roles in several super hit movies.

Veteran director Tatineni Rama Rao’s death came as another loss to Tollywood. He passed away in Chennai at the age of 84.

He had started his career in the film industry as an assistant director and made his directorial debut with Navarathri (1966), starring Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Savitri in the lead roles. He directed more than 65 films in Telugu and Hindi.

He directed blockbusters such as Brahmachari (1966), Manchi Mitrulu (1969), Jeevana Tarangalu (1973), Dorababu (1974), Yamagola (1977), Anuraga Devatha (1982) and Pachchani Kapuram (1985).

In September, Tollywood lost legendary actor U. V. Krishnam Raju. He passed away the age of 83. Known as the ‘rebel star’ of Telugu cinema, he was the uncle of popular actor Prabhas.

In a career spanning 50 years, Krishnam Raju acted in more than 180 films. He was also a recipient of five Filmfare south awards as well as three Nandi awards. His most famous works include Jeevana Tarangalu, Krishnaveni, and Bhakta Kannappa among others.

Raju served as the Union Minister of state in various ministries in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government between 2000 and 2002. He was elected to the Kakinada and Narasapuram constituencies in the 12th and 13th Lok Sabha on BJP ticket.

In November, Tollywood suffered a huge loss with the death of legendary actor Krishna. He died of cardiac arrest at the age of 79.

Ghattamaneni Siva Rama Krishna Murthy or Superstar Krishna, as he was popularly known, acted in more than 350 films in a career spanning five decades. He also produced and directed a few films.

Father of actor Mahesh Babu, Krishna was credited with introducing many new trends in Tollywood.

He is known for many landmark movies like ‘Alluri Seetharama Raju’, which was the first cinemascope movie in Tollywood, ‘Eenadu’ (1982), first Eastman colour film and ‘Simhasanam’ (1986), the first 70 mm film.

The superstar founded Padmalaya Studio in 1970 and produced some highly successful movies.

The superstar was reported to be depressed since the death of his wife Indira Devi in September. Early this year, he lost his elder son Ramesh Babu.

Considered close to former Prime Minister Rahiv Gandhi, Krishna joined the Congress party in 1984. He was elected to Lok Sabha from Eluru in 1989 but lost the election in 1991 from the same constituency. After Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, Krishna distanced himself from politics

He received several awards including NTR national award in 2003. In 2009, he was honoured with the Padma Bhushan for his contributions to Indian cinema.

The last month of the year saw Tollywood losing two more veteran actors. Kaikala Satyanarayana passed away on December 23 at the age of 87. Known for his roles as a villain and character artiste, he acted in over 750 films. In a career spanning 60 years, he worked with over 200 directors.

A close friend of former Chief Minister N. T. Rama Rao, he was elected to Lok Sabha from Machilipatnam in 1996 on the ticket of Telugu Desam Party (TDP). He later quit politics.

Even before Tollywood could recover from this shock, another veteran actor Tammareddy Chalapathi Rao passed away on December 25. He died of cardiac arrest at the age of 78.

Known for his comic and villainous roles, he acted with three generations of top stars in a career spanning over five decades. He acted more than 600 films.

Chalapathi Rao made his debut in 1966 with ‘Ghodachari 116’. He acted in supporting roles with leading actors like N. T. Rama Rao, Krishna, Nagarjuna, Chiranjeevi and Venkatesh. He also produced a few films.

Tollywood has been shining with so many super hits post-pandemic when compared to the other film industries. South Indian films have even proved the potential of Indian cinema and they fared well across the North Indian circuits. Lot of Telugu films also ended up as disasters after the taste of the audience changed after the pandemic. There is a lot of vacuum in the Telugu film industry going on currently. A lot of money is struck because of the poor performance of small and medium-budget films. Several financiers are not ready to lend finances for small and big films considering the reputation, success rate and the track record of the producers. Telugu cinema is faring well even without stars and the financiers are following a new strategy now. They are quite cautious about lending finances for the big-budget films and those with stars.

More than ten regular and top production houses of Tollywood are left in financial stress as per our exclusive news This is because of multiple projects in hand and the financial vaccuum that is created in the market. The financiers too kept a close and keen watch on the budgets, and remunerations. They are ready to lend out a safe bet considering various aspects instead of shelling out huge money. Acharya and Liger taught a lot of lessons to financiers, producers and distributors. Tollywood distributors too are not ready to pay huge advances or release the films on NRA basis. There would be a drastic change in Telugu cinema very soon. The producer will have to face the burden and bear the loss if he has a half boiled product.

The Tollywood Producers called off the film shoots and they came to a halt for the entire month of August. Before resolving all the issues, the producers decided to resume the shoots because of the financial stress and stakes involved. The Producers Council and the Producers Guild revealed that they would meet further and finalize the other issues to be resolved. The workers of 24 crafts of Telugu cinema have been demanding a hike in their wages. With the Producers tight-lipped about this, they decided to head for a strike from September 15th.

They have served notices to the Producers Council that they would head for a strike if the issues are not solved and if their wages are not hiked. Several top producers have met today in the Film Chamber and are discussing about the issue. More details awaited.