Producer SKN addressing concerns about the 30% wage hike and its impact on small filmmakers in Tollywood
Ongoing strike by Telugu Film Employees Federation has exposed the cruel realities that are in front of small budget filmmakers within Tollywood. Of this confrontation, at its center is producer SKN, who has blasted across the proposed rise of 30% in wages, warning that it could create a burden so unbearable for producers already fighting to recover investments.
Such fails to reflect a bigger problem that perhaps all in the industry face: fair wages against viability.
SKN emphasized that small films make up most of the production in Tollywood, while these producers are often left to bear it entirely by themselves. Possible revenues are highly uncertain and sometimes very unevenly distributed, sparking doubt about how sustainable their ventures are. He highlighted how ticket pricing and OTT deals favor the big-budget films and leave smaller films at a differential disadvantage.
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"We're just applying a band-aid policy on huge wounds. Our battles are invisible-sighted. We aren't rising producers-this burns crews," said SKN in interpreting financial risks facing the filmmakers.
"Ask the film unions to accept this accord between their demands and the industry responsibilities that flow from that," before asking the government of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana to lend their essential support to small producers, the backbone of the Tollywood ecosystem.
This collective message was loud enough without this support, many a small filmmaker would not survive the ongoing headwinds.
This concern also found resonance in a recent press meet of a group named emerging producers like SKN, Dheeraj Mogilineni, Razesh Danda, Chaitanya (Prime Show) and others. According to Chaitanya Reddy of Prime Show, this situation is worse everywhere in the world, and not just here after all, filmmaking is very hard everywhere.
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According to her, compelling producers into hiring a certain number of workers limits their capability of managing projects. "Producers create employment, yet no producer is truly happy right now," she reasoned, calling for the speedy resolution of the crisis.
With the ongoing strike, now the issue of wage hikes and what they mean for small producers continues to be a key talking point. In reality, the future of Tollywood depends on creating a happy equilibrium which respects the rights of workers and at the same time renders the creative and finance-sustaining ecosystem possible for filmmakers of all scales.
Short of such balance, the industry would risk the whole diversity and innovation that small producers have to offer.
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