"Subramanyam For Sale" (Telugu Movie Review)

My review of the film:

http://www.telugu360.com/subramanyam-for-sale-telugu-movie-review/

"Mukunda" (Telugu Film Review)

Chiranjeevi's brother Naga Babu made his debut first in "Marana Mridangam" which also earned his brother the title of "Mega Star" for the first time. Decades later, Naga Babu's son Varun Tej makes his debut from a family which already has many "mega" sobriquets. "Mukunda" is the debut film for Varun Tej directed by IIM post-graduate turned-director Srikanth Addala who made such refreshing films like "Kotha Bangaru Lokam" and "Seethamma Vaakitlo Sirimalle Chettu".  It  is a proud addition to his catalogue of films with a earthy touch of reality and message. The message: Be Clear about life. Aim High, don't aim low.

Set in a village backdrop, the story is about politics and a cute love story, as the hero himself reveals in a flashback to a fellow traveller in a bus. Politics is dominated by Rao Ramesh who gets his career-redefining performance as a Municipal Chairman in a mandal. He is well entrenched in the post for the past 25 years and is yet unopposed for the upcoming elections until Mukunda enters. Mukunda is the Man Friday of Arjun who loves the daughter of Rao Ramesh which doesn't go well with his male order of son, brother, et al. They have repeated run-ins with Arjun and with Mukunda as well. These confrontations lead to many fights and dramatic scenes which kick up firebrand dialogues from Rao Ramesh, penned by the director himself. But the friction only grows even as elections draw near. Meanwhile, Mukunda, our hero, falls in love with the other daughter of Rao Ramesh, the lovely and demure Pooja Hegde who is decked up even in sleep to look stunning. The romance escalates tensions with  Rao Ramesh; Mukunda also unexpectedly fields the good Samaritan Prakash Raj opposite him. Who will win the elections? What happens to the two love pairs? Is there a tragedy in the tail? Find out yourself.

"Mukunda" is quite gripping in most parts as director builds a steady tension in the plot  showing steady conflict between a merciless and a crude villain Rao Ramesh who rides on the system to fuel his rent-seeking ambitions and a silent student Varun Tej who is ever protective of his friend Arjun but unafraid of fighting injustice. The highlight of the film are the dialogues of Srikanth Addala as he makes us think and join the bandwagon of emotions running undercurrent. Rao Ramesh gets  standout lines which will make him as famous as his legendary father Rao Gopal Rao. Most of his dialogues are an outburst of his state of mind when confronted by opposition from somebody but in the words of Srikanth Addala, they come across as measured output with mathematical preciseness. Infact, he uses many mathematical concepts like Pascal's theorem, trigonometry, geometrical terms like diameter, circumference and perpendicularity which convey the essence of a manly volcano about to erupt in further violence. His dialogues and  delivery in his carefully cultivated exterior in starch cotton aptly elevate his villainy to a level not seen in Tollywood recently. Because the last decade has seen mostly imported villainy and sidelining of native actors like Kota Srinivasa Rao, the audience is treated to dollops of freshness on what the original baddy in Tollywood looks like in-form. It is high time, producers take Rao Ramesh seriously and stop giving us pussilanimous spoonfuls of puerile gangsters and warlords in incredulous costumes sporting six-packs and Che Guera beards. Rao Ramesh is believable, original and just as apt-looking as the henchman who stood in your constituency last seeking your votes. 

How is Varun Tej? He is promising in his first film with decent looks, good in stunts and dances. Lacks a bit in packing punches in emotional and romantic scenes. Director Srikanth probably estimated his strengths correctly, so he gives the apt characterisation of Varun Tej - building him up in machismo and heroism and showcasing him as a valiant protector of loved ones but limiting his play in love and affections to minimal. Can you believe, in 152 minutes duration of the film, the director shows the first face-to-face meeting between Varun Tej and Pooja Hegde only in the 79th minute? That speaks of the director who knows his plot, believes in screenplay as a wind that powers the narration and has a clarity of class. Any other hero in maiden launch would have peeved at the paltry screen time given to work out the chemistry between the hero and the heroine. So this shows Varun Tej has the maturity to believe in a story. I am sure this film will win Srikanth more fans from the Chiru family itself who usually seek the beaten path to commercial stardom, with the exception of Allu Arjun. Srikanth Addala has the calibre to scale peaks of commercial film success just like writer-directors such as Trivikram.

Performances-wise, everybody plays their part well. Pooja Hegde, the damsel who first debuted in "Mask" has a cute characterisation with few dialogues but stunning looks. When was the last time you saw a heroine dancing in devotional songs on Lord Krishna and clad in costumes that barely show anything? "Mukunda" is a miracle in that sense. Parachuri Venkateswar Rao as the hero's father haunts you with a handful of resonating dialogues. Prakash Raj's presence in Srikanth Addala's film is more like a mandatory over in cricket; his dialogues stir your middle-class anger but his characterisation lacks depth. He makes an unexpected entry, makes a point or two as a madcap preacher and then exits like Arvind Kejriwal without an excuse, Funny. Sustaining a plot like this without legitimate comedians like Brahmanandam is a crime in today's Tollywood, but Srikanth pulls off with ease. If at all something can be held against him it is that the confrontation between Rao Ramesh and Varun Tej ends without proper retribution and apology, you wish that Rao Ramesh who gets humbled every time but packs a thunder in every dialogue goes weak in his knees but that never happens. Similarly, Varun Tej shows up in all the fights, even helping girls harrassed by roadside romeos. But we don't get how he suddenly appears for Income Tax Officer's exam and even becomes one. That is the only cinematic license Srikanth takes to deliver a message. The hero's punchlines at the selection interview speak the director's mind: "The Biggest Crime in today's developing world is low aspiration. Low aspiration is killing our potential." Despite minor flaws, the film is a winner all the way, ably supported by Mickey J Meyer's impressive BGM and music. Few songs stand out and scoring BGM for the many moods in the film must give Mickey a new high. 

Yes, there is a dose of violence in the film unusually associated with Srikanth's films - that earned it U/A. But we need more directors like Srikanth and movies like "Mukunda" to re-set our paradigms of entertainment. I recommend "Mukunda" as highly watchable film. 

Rating: 3.5/5

#Mukunda #MovieReviews #FilmReviews #Tollywood #VarunTej #SrikanthAddala #RaoRamesh #PoojaHegde #MickeyJMeyer #PrakashRaj

"Seethamma Vaakitlo Siri Malle Chettu" Telugu Movie Review

"Seethamma Vaakitlo SiriMalle Chettu" is a clean and supergood U-certificate blockbuster from the house of Dil Raju who made some of the finest DVD value catalog of family films over the last several years. "SVSC" is a culmination of many people who are proven talents in their own areas of work and so many of them have come together to give a great film that will be a sure-fire superhit which the toddlers and the seniors can watch together.

First, lets look at the creative team that came together for this film. Mani Sharma scores Background score, he has embellished the exceptionally melodious music given by Mickey J Meyer whose last best score was for "Kotha Bangaru Lokam" and perhaps "Happy Days". There are about seven songs and all of them have lyrics and sonorous music - which means Mickey J Meyer has taken the right feedback from those who apprehended his abilities. Mani Sharma and DSP are the best in Re-recording after AR Rahman and Ilayaraja, and in this film Mani proves that he is a pro in setting the right moods throughout a family film with emotional roller-coaster rides. Next comes K S Guhan whose name sounds straight out of a triumvirate list of AVM producers but he is not, he is the cinematographer of repute and one of his best works came in "Athadu" movie. He has made everybody in the film including an irritating character played by Ravibabu come alive and look good. Then, its time to salute an original legend in dialogues who was gainfully employed by K Balachander for innumerable films with telling effect - Ganesh Patro. He has taken the noblest intentions of Srikanth Addala, the director (of whom we will talk more later) in giving us heart-tugging dialogues, dialogues that come straight from the heart, real and yet credible, touching and sometimes tears-triggering. He has also created within the ambit of a wonderful screenplay and straight narration of a simple family story a memorable line for each character in the film which defines and extends their screen presence. For example, Prakash Raj has a line that defines his personality in the film. Rao Ramesh, the only equivalent of a villain if you can call in the film, has a few lines of "Plan, Scheme and Vision" that defines his world and his character in the film. Venkatesh and Mahesh, Jayasudha and Rohini Hattangadi, Anjali and Murali Mohan all have their lines in the film which create an endearing interplay thanks to the words of the director and the dialogues of Ganesh Patro. Can other legends who are past their prime plan in similar ways plan to stage a comeback, I ask as a film-lover?



The story is not outlandish or complicated, infact it is the simplest storyline for a family drama seen in years. Prakash Raj and Jayasudha live in a village with their grownup sons Venkatesh and Mahesh, their only daughter and their niece Anjali and mother Rohini Hattangadi. Prakash Raj is a Good Samaritan who helps anybody who bumps into him because he feels "we shall not pass this way again". Jayasudha and her mother-in-law Rohini Hattangadi's only worry how the sons settle and when they get married. Venkatesh, the eldest son is a straight faced angry "young" man, he is undiplomatic and doesn't mince words and faces struggles at work with his adamance. Mahesh, on the contrary, is street-smart, sweet-talker who flirts with anybody and is acutely conscious of his handsome looks and has lots of fun at others' cost but tries to bind the family together with his diplomacy skills. Their family is connected to another family in Vijayawada comprising of Rao Ramesh, his wife and two daughters Samantha and another girl. Rao Ramesh has absolute disdain for Prakash Raj's family because he measures his world by materialism and success - and feels the latter's family is a bunch of under-achievers and goal-less people who are just eking out their living by killing time. Samantha falls in love with Mahesh and Anjali, the girl who grows up in Prakash Raj's family is paired with Venkatesh from the beginning and she is the daughter of Rao Ramesh's sister who is no more. The climax of the film shows Rao Ramesh get a comeuppance from Prakash Raj's family in a bizarre episode at Bhadrachalam and he changes his mind to give both his "daughters" to the family almost like in "Hum Aapke Hai Kaun". That is a story which seems quite unimpressive but the way in which Srikanth Addala meshed the storyline with narration, built layers of characterisation of each character with utter honesty and rustic charm, is a visual treat -a celluloid extravaganza, ably supported by roaring performances by everybody with a few exceptions.



Between Venkatesh and Mahesh, I honestly liked the performance of Venkatesh for the variety and shades portrayed; first it is weak and then slowly grows in the end. Mahesh's character is good in parts and he shows the youthful fervour and intensity thats earmarked in the story. As a younger brother, Mahesh strikes an amazing chemistry with Venkatesh, the elder brother; he steals the thunder from Venkatesh in some of the scenes because of the way the story moves in the direction of educating Venkatesh for better. There are about six scenes between Venkatesh and Mahesh, mostly at wall corners and terraces - they are the best moments of the film and stir you with what goes on between two brothers when egos are involved and affection takes a backseat. It is captured in the most honest and thrilling fashion and might be one of the best draws in the film. Within the first few moments of their appearance on screen as brothers, you forget that they are superstars and get engrossed in the characterisation. Mahesh, being the younger brother, speaks more in the film, is shown as more ebullient and racy whereas Venkatesh being the eldest brother, shows many nuances of acting with his subtle variations in silence and few lines of eloquence. Prakash Raj's characterisation is not that great in the film compared to the previous films of Dil Raju but his presence lends dignity to the role. Rao Ramesh, who also lends his voice to the statutory cigarette warnings at the outset, has got a role thats consistent and worthy of his potential but towards climax, he could have got more lines as to how he realised his follies; director allows a song to tell it all. Jayasudha has got a meatier role and carries her role with consummate ease. The surprise package in the film is the character of 'Sita" played brilliantly by Anjali (The Tamil girl in "Journey"). If the voice dubbed is her own, then Anjali is the actress to watch out for almost like Soundarya in yesteryears. She is the soul of the film and binds so many characters together and moves the story forward at several moments of the film. She is beautiful, has the looks, got an arresting screen-presence and looks commandingly paired with Venkatesh; pity that this pair got one song whereas Mahesh and Samantha got two songs. Samantha has got three songs in the film including a solo; obviously everybody believes she is the lucky mascot for Tollywood these days. For now, we will hope her luck will favor this time also and she will one day outgrow her cute looks and wimpish girly giggles, she should reach out to the casting directors of Hollywood and get roles like "SnowWhite", "Cindrella", and "Barbie the beauty"!



The running time is 159 minutes. Srikanth Addala who has made "Kotha Bangaru Lokam" is clearly the silent craftsman who has given his best shot after KBL with this film. He has shown that given the backing of a good producer who dirties his hands and gets down to the brasstacks of film-making in tow with the technical team, any director who is earnest, feels sincerely about a message of family values that should reach out to the widest audience in this nuclear-family and fast-paced world, one can indeed make a blockbuster movie. Luckily, for both the makers Srikanth and Dil Raju, the stars are aligned literally for a thorough entertaining film thats given a clean chit at the Censor Board, moves you and touches your soul many a time with lots of clarity. If there are any blemishes in the film, they get over-shadowed by the momentum of the story-telling, music, performances and traipsing speed of the characterisation in giving a warm hug to the audience who come with mixed expectaitons. Ravi Babu's characterisation as a villian, Tanikella Bharani's character as a modern-day Sage Narada who carries tales, and some of the scenes of extreme eve-teasing Mahesh Babu at public places are the only ones I remember, in bad taste. Mahesh definitely looks younger and stylish; his dressing sense looks vastly improved. Venkatesh has got mono shades and could have improvised his dressing patterns. Can the movie be shorter? I always feel so, including this movie review. Is the movie entertaining? Yes and No. Yes, if you expect to be surcharged with emotions and get engrossed with the story and not get bored at all. No, if you expect fireworks from an ensemble of extraneous characters who charge Rs.2 lacs per day and consume Biryani for their entire family. No mainstream comedians in this film except Venu Madhav as a Census Officer. One neat cameo in the film by Producer-Actor Murali Mohan is to be noted - he comes at two crucial junctures and both times he elevates the character of Prakash Raj.



Srikanth Addala is an IIM graduate who has been working for nine years in Dil Raju factory. He has offered a different treatment to how a blockbuster should be and has shown rare sensitivity and dexterity to blend two superstars with different images into one unit of brothers, plain-clothed characters. If this is a trend that becomes more defined and prevalent in days to come, then Tollywood can scale greater heights because this is the industry that remains second to none in terms of entertainment, comedy, scale and technical values. Imagine the power of superstars like Pawan Kalyan, Nagarjuna, NTR, Prabhas, Allu Arjun, Ramcharan, Balakrishna, Ravi Teja and these two to come together for a good story and just be characters instead of being ego-sized cutout characters. Sky's the limit. "SVSC" is an effort that's a dream come true from the beginning for those who believe in the power of cinema to thrill them to bits. For all those who are on this side of entertainment, the side that doesn't take sides of Heroes and only believe in good story-telling, SVSC is a visual treat. I stick to my guns and give it 4.5 on 5. Cheers! Happy Sankranti!

"Life is Beautiful" Telugu Movie Review

“Life is Beautiful” is now not just an Oscar-winning foreign film but also a Telugu film from a much-acclaimed director Shekhar Kammula, an Engineer-turned sophomore director who makes baby leaps with every film and carries youth and family audiences with him. Shekhar’s films are usually titled with English names, words or phrases like “Happy Days”, “Dollar Dreams”, “Anand”, “Godavari” and now “L.I.B” but his heart lies in Telugu household traditions. That’s what made his works ensnare a huge base of viewers across the Telugu-speaking world. Typically, his films have undercurrents of urban middle-class family values, humane and altruistic outlook in principal characters, feelings of nostalgia for things past, cute romantic tracks, autobiographical leanings and a subtle message beamed out through the narrative itself. “LIB” is no different from the above package that one expects from Shekhar. Its another film that resembles “Happy Days” in substance and texture and his earlier films. In this film, he shows the coming-of-age of three youth whose lives get entwined in a colony in Padmarao Nagar, Secunderabad (where else!).


One of them Sreenu (Abhijit) sets foot in Sunshine Colony with his two sisters to complete his Engineering final year so they can study for their courses too; they are set off by their mother Amala for a “reason”. He is joined by two more youth who have their own stories – one is a rustic good Samaritan (perhaps the best character in the film-Nagaraju played by Sudhakar) and the other is a gizmo-creating, dreamy-eyed youth almost similar to Aamir Khan’s character in “3 Idiots” called Abhi (Kaushik). The threesome run into a series of class-divide neighbourhood brawls with a gang of Rich-Dad-Rich-brats who have nothing else to do in life except party, play and all that. When they are not having run-ins with the richer kids in the neighbourhood, the three youth have their share of fun with the loves of their life. Here is where Shekhar Kammula can be faulted with because the storyline is just a leaf out “Happy Days” where for most of the screentime, youth are seen wasting their time on discussing cute women, unfriendly combats and then raproachments. The only difference is, in “LIB”, the setting shifts to a colony from college – so the next setting we can expect from Shekhar Kammula in this coming-of-age trilogy may be in the office or workplace itself – so he can create romance and fights at workplace despite the fact that time is more precious and already paid for. This is the biggest failing in the film – that people have so much time to kill for and have neighbourhood brawls. Whether in Padma Rao Nagar in Secunderabad or a colony in Gachibowli or Banjara Hills, people don’t see their neighbours in years so where’s the case of a class conflict between a B-Class flat society and a Gold-phase neighbourhood? Shekhar has to grow up and see the reality in metro – how the society lives its daily chores and how it interacts with each other segment – the basic fabric is getting increasingly exclusive so the inclusivity amongst the classes is usually idealistic. There’s little scope for any intercourse between those at the periphery and those in high standing – that’s the harsh reality of today’s ecosystem which Shekhar has grossly missed out – and while drumming up to the theme that “life is beautiful” throughout the film, he shows little glimpses of what that beautiful life is all about – its mostly about infatuation, male-female fixation, romance, Mars, Venus and little else, you get the idea.

Leave that flaw and the thing about how society is moving on, Shekhar has taken a mature approach to show as many characters as possible which gives a macrocosmic view of an Urban India that is degenerative in values and demeanor. He is immaculate in creating characters clearly etched out and distinct from each other; they flourish in a medium pace narrative that mostly slackens after the second half. What is good about these characters is they will appeal to each one of us in a manner we can relate with in daily lives. Shekhar’s films are still worthy of family audience viewing and by that I also mean what the family should know how each member of the family is thinking or moving directionally. In that sense, he strikes a chord in “LIB” in showcasing what’s on the minds of today’s youth – someone is forced into an MBBS course, someone lies to her brother of an affinity towards a boy-friend, someone saves her boy-friend’s name in mobile phone as “Radha” (girl’s name), someone gets pulled into a trap with material comforts by a friendly boss, someone is mis-guided never to cry in public (this can be hugely repressive and dangerous, as we see). Stuff like this hardly gets highlighting in films even though its happening in our lives because they are taboo topics and Shekhar gives his best shot at uncovering these for the benefit of better supervision by elders and spirited guidance of today’s youth. Shekhar gives his take on these matters in his usual subtextual narratives, matter-of-factly and unobstrusively. Shekhar also puts his trademark dialogues and creates impactful scenes. One such scene is where Abhi’s sister doesn’t make it to Nasr School (its obvious!) because she can’t speak English. In climax, the girl comes back in a spellbee contest with zeal, speaking fluently in English then lapses into Telugu because she says she can’t express herself better in any other language. That’s one of the most intense scenes apart from a few more where the director shows that life is beautiful if you can enjoy the little joys of living and there’s no correlation between making money and staying happy. But some of this comes too little too late after rambling in romance for 150 minutes.

On the whole, the film is watchable once despite the painful resemblance to “Happy Days” and the faulty assumptions about modern-day living. Characterisation is quite consistent for each character and the three principal characters and their lady-loves are livelier than the rest. Amala Akkineni is passable and don’t know why there was so much hoopla about her comeback role, she is seen for less than 10 minutes even in interspersed between first and second half. Anjali Jhaveri has a good role in the film which gets highlighted at crucial turns in the film, she looks as demure as the girl who stirred hearts in “Samara Simha Reddy” and “Preminchukundaam Raa…”. But the glamour and oomph factor in the film is Shriya Saran. With her well-toned figure and selective makeup, Shriya is sensational to watch as an older girl who is charmed by a younger boy who never tires of antics and magic tricks. She is shown in the scantiest of dresses that Shekhar wouldn’t have shown in all of his films so far as a Diva from Venus and the superstar sex appeal of an aging actress who acted with the likes of Rajnikanth, Chiranjeevi and Mahesh Babu is revived well by the director. The other two girls – the lady loves of the two youth are also impressive, one of them Shagun who played Paddu surely has the good looks that will turn her into a bankable heroine. Watch out for her, a Tamanna in the making.

A word or two about the technicals. Padmasri Thota Tharani has created sylvan surroundings that are bewildering in a simple colony in PadmaRao Nagar. Music by Mickey J Meyer is alarmingly close to “Happy Days” soundtrack in most numbers. But I guess, this is because the idiom dictated by the script is similar to that so there’s little scope for improvisation and variety in this film. What I feel is that music directors who get lulled into the same plots sometimes ruin their careers – this happened with RadhaKrishna Murthy and a few others. Mickey J Meyer has scored some great music in the film but the sounding is not different from what we have heard before. For a music director to appeal for eternity, you need a mix of exciting instrumentation, harmonical orchestration, range of rhythms and range of musical genres – if you don’t have all of these you will not make it big. Mickey J Meyer is a trained music composer in the Trinity College, London has all the trappings of an emerging Musical Mind but is not experimenting with new rhythms, richer orchestration and different instrumentation. I get the feeling, his best works are behind not ahead of him as I haven’t heard anything new after “Kotha Bangaaru Lokam’ or “Maro Charithra”. If he gets back to doing some homework on these lines, he can join the likes of DSP, Yuvan Shankar Raja, Mani Sharma, and Harris Jayaraj. Lets not talk about joining the duo of Ilayaraja and AR Rahman. That’s a far cry. The only thing that excited me is the notes using Mandolin – that stood out in a couple of songs that are always forgettable. Cinematography is great. Dialogues by the director himself are quite apt and worth their utterances.

On the whole, the movie is mostly fun even though I didn’t spot much loud laughter like in earlier films. Despite the shortcomings, “Life is Beautiful” is worth watching once because of the niche Shekhar created for himself but if he doesn’t move on from the nature of plots like these, he will meet with unexpected failures in future because a director who has a grip on all departments like him should try out different genres. It is for this reason that, had I rated “Happy Days” 3.5 out of 5, I will rate “Life is Beautiful” 2.5 out of 5 because I expected more.

The Business of Tollywood: An appreciation of film costs

"Julayi" movie collects over Rs.11 crores in Nizam region. "Eega" movie collected over Rs.15 crs. in the same region during its 50-day run. "Sudigaadu" collected over Rs.2 crores in Hyderabad region alone in its first week clocking over 91 per cent occupancy on opening weekend. So, Tollywood has had a better run this year compared to previous year as many of big-star releases turned out to be good hits starting with "Businessman". The run of Tamil film releases this year dubbed into Telugu hasn't been that great despite increasing openness and awareness of Kollywood films in Andhra Pradesh.

Now that the starting bets have been good for Tollywood, the season in the second-half of the year is hotting up with some spectacular releases lined up. "Life is Beautiful"(Shekar Kammula), "Shirdi Sai" (Nagarjuna), "Rebel" (Prabhas), "Cameraman Ganga tho Rambabu" (Pawan Kalyan) and so on...looks like September - October will see some big-ticket releases including the much-awaited multi-starrer "Seethamma Vakitlo Siri Malle Chettu" (Mahesh and Venkatesh), we'll call it "SVSMC".

Let's guess how the costing of "SVSMC" will add up. I have taken a ball-park estimate based on some simplistic back-of-the-envelope calculations of how these costs will add up and later how they will be marked to recover. They may be wrong but I hope the thought process should clarify to you how film costs generally add up in budgets which are becoming huger and monstrous. It becomes necessary to understand them because the blind bets are placed by the group who are not impervious to the speculative nature of films - the Movie Distributor. Lets see an example, first, before we conclude:

"Seethamma Vakitlo Siri Malle Chettu" Movie Costs:

Superstar Mahesh Babu's Remuneration:  Rs.8 crores.
Victory Venkatesh's Remuneration:          Rs.4 crores.
Director's Remuneration/Music Director   Rs.2 crores.
Samantha's remuneration                          Rs.1 crore.
Miscellaneous artists remuneration            Rs.2 crores.
Miscellaneous technician's remuneration    Rs.3 crores
Shooting cost for 100 Days @Rs.5 lacs    Rs.5 crores.
                                                              -----------------
Total cost so far for SVSMC                    Rs.25  crores.

Since it is unlikely that the producer will bear all the costs by self, he will take loan @ 3 per cent from the money-lenders and financiers to fund this cost. That will be about Rs.4.50 crores. Or roughly, say Rs.5 crores. That means the total cost without budgeting any contingency run-ups and other escalations by delays caused due to other reasons comes to Rs.30 crores.

We haven't added the distribution and marketing costs including the audio function which is becoming an eye-ball attracting event. Considering these, it becomes imperative to keep costs and shooting schedules under tight leash and you have to raise the buzz about the movie well-before the release so that you can out-sell and recover the costs as effectively as possible.

How do we recover the costs?
Satellite rights recover a good sum, say Rs.6-8 crores. Then comes overseas territory sales which can fetch about Rs.3-5 crores. Then comes the big stakes of Andhra Pradesh which will be sold at whopping sums. Take Nizam Region, for example. Assuming each show sells Rs.20,000/- multiplied by 7 days multiplied by 5 shows average multiplied by 350 screens will give Rs.24.50 crores. Thats how the bets will start at first- then they will negotiate it down or up based on the eyeballs and added attractions in the movie. In this whole game, commercial banks play it safe in recovery of costs - they will not fund above Rs.5 crores and get away with their interest and principal repayments well before the release of the film.

The riskiest category will be the distributor who can expect a return in binary numbers, zero or one, meaning hit or flop. If its a hit, they rake it in. If its a flop, they are finished.

But coming back to the crux of the budgets, this is broadly how they stack up and this should give you an example of how film costs are incurred, how they are marketed and how they are recovered.