From the history of Telugu Cinema, we have seen several movies that are called “Industry hits”. So, what is an Industry hit? Very simple, any movie that goes on to beat the collections of the previous highest grosser is termed as Industry hit. In the past two decades, let’s start from Pokiri. Pokiri went on to collect more than 40 crores share in its full run which is an Industry hit at that time. After a few years came Magadheera which swept all the earlier records and went to collect more than 60 crores in its Telugu version. Then came Gabbar Singh which crossed Magadheera by a small margin. And then we saw Atharantiki Dharedhi crossing the previous record by a small margin. When I say small margin, it is approximately around +- 5 to 10%. And then we saw Srimanthudu crossing the 100 crore gross followed by Khaidi No 150.
Now, let’s come to the topic named Baahubali. I had to write the previous paragraph as to highlight why Baahubali is a complete change over to Telugu Film Industry and how it opened several business vertical’s across the globe. When Baahubali: The Beginning (baby Dinosaur) released, it went to become such a huge hit that a new term named “Non-Baahubali records” came into existence among the trade circles. This Non Baahubali record became a synonym to the term Industry Hit. It ended up amassing such huge collections across the globe in all versions and made the whole Indian Film Industry to look up at Telugu Film Industry.
Then, after two years released Baahubali: The Conclusion (Father Dinosaur). It just completed 50 days and became the highest grosser in Telugu, Tamil, Hindi and Malayalam versions and went on to become the first Indian movie to touch 1000 crore gross. As per the latest reports from trade, it is standing at 1700+ crore and is yet to release in some major territories like China and Europe. It has become a trend setter of sorts where several movies from leading production houses started thinking on a huge canvas. Now all big heroes are eyeing other regional and national markets. Recently we hear a production house that is ready to pump in as much as 1000 crores to produce Mahabharata and another leading production house getting readied to produce Ramayana with as much as 500 crore budget. Immense craze has been generated and all the big wigs from other industries are keen on becoming a part of Telugu cinema. Prabhas next movie is already announced that it will be made in three languages which were never attempted by him before. Budget also grew manifold and there is huge scope of delivering movies with latest technology advancements. Before Baahubali, we know of only few stars like Rajanikanth and Shankar who could attempt making movies above 100 crore budget. But now the list has increased and many of them from Telugu Industry are attempting more movies on a huge scale. Prabhas next movie is touted to be 150 crore budget and Mahesh’s Tamil-Telugu bilingual Spyder is also deemed to be a 100+ crore project. There is no doubt that Megastar Chiranjeevi’s upcoming venture Uyyalawada NarasimhaReddy will also be made on similar lines with a budget of over 150+ crores. Sangamithra makers have also started the pre-production work for their high budget flick.
Atlast, Baahubali franchise has just not opened flood gates for Telugu Industry but also made the audience across the globe to watch out for Telugu cinema with dignity and pride. It has made all the movie makers think that if a project is made with good content and high technical standards, it will just not be lapped by the native audience but will be adored by viewers across the globe. No doubt, the future of cinema will be termed as Before Baahubali and After Baahubali. This is indeed a remarkable changeover to Telugu Film Industry.
—By AjayKumar Mudunuri
