Telugu is filming on board the ship on the beach road Visakhapatnam. | Photo Credit: Representative Photos
By the second week, Patovate continued among Telugu producers and federation of Telugu film industry (TFIEF), while the film shoots stopped. Tussle began with TFIEF demanding a 30% wage increase.
TFIEF and trade unions of various crafts, from stunt to make -up and other departments, justified their demand for wage increases and quoted increasing production costs for films that compete for nationwide cash registers and leading actors and directors who draw a fee for several CRORE.
Meanwhile, producers said that in addition to a handful of all Indian hits, several films at the cash register have failed. They also point out how the trade unions charge a deadly membership fee and state rules that ady the manufacturers to hire more crew members than necessary, increasing production costs.
With an ongoing strike, the industry stares at the possibility of inevitable delay in films currently in production.
On Monday afternoon, several producers of small and medium budget films, which meet with the participants of Sreenivas Kumar Naida aka Skn Maleshwar Reddy, Vamsi Nandipati, Harshith Reddy and Rakesh Varre, submitted their arguments.
“Approximately 250 Telugu films releases every year, less than 50 of which has a budget exceeding 100 crore. Most producers work with smaller budgets,” said SKN, produced by Blockbuster Baby. “Producers are not cash bags,” he added.
These arguments came in connection with the accusations that trade unions force the manufacturer to hire several crew members than required for film filming. Madhura Sreedhar explained: “For example, if we have to make an interview between two actors in the room, we need several lights, cameras and a small crew. For the rules set by the unions, members of each craft bring several assistants.
His statement was repeated by other producers. Rrakesh Varre, who produced a small budget, Sleeper Hit Pekamedal, pointed out how he produced his debut film Evvariki Cheeppodu at 1.5 Crore. He maintained his production with a low key and hired union members. For his second film Pekamedal, the rope had to be with several crew members with trade union cards.
“The film’s budget has risen to 2.5 crore,” he said, adding that the myth of producers and actors who cleaned up the amounts will not hold well for smaller teams. “There is no guarantee that we will receive profits through a theater edition or digital rights. OTT platforms do not select movies unless there are well -known actors.”
Published – 12th August 2025 01:35 IS
