Telugu audience bought into escapist cinema

 With path-breaking and supernatural thriller  ‘Oka Kshanam’ failing to the set box office on fire, it seems that Telugu film audience are bought into escapist cinema for good. Even a true-blue horror flick ‘Gruham’ and average success of ‘Khaki’ which is tale of a cop who sets out to nab culprits across India with just a few finger prints has just reiterated that fact that different cinema has few takers in T-town. 

Will 2018 be any different in audience preferences? “It cannot happen overnight. Coz, these days people are undergoing a lot of pressure due to work and family pressure and opt for cinema as a stress-buster which is smooth on their nerves. 

They like to watch a song and dance movie with a few good laughs and relax, rather than exerting pressure on their brains,” says director Meher Ramesh who believes that escapist cinema will remain in the mainstream for days to come. ‘’Even the recent blockbusters in Hindi and Tamil ‘Tiger Zinda Hai’ and ‘Mersal’ respectively also belong to this so-called formulaic entertainers. 

Hence, escapist cinema is universal and not confined to Telugu alone,” adds Meher.
However, aspiring Telugu filmmakers are unable to think out-of-the-box and have to follow the beaten track. While Bollywood and Kollywood filmmakers churn out different cinema like ‘Newton’ and ‘Aaruvi’ and ‘Aaram’ respectively which were thought-provoking but rocked the box-office. 

“Tamil audience always patronised realistic and bold movies, while in Bollywood the rise of intelligent cinema is proportionate to the rise of multiplexes across the country. 

Whereas, Telugu audience love watching larger-than-life star-studded movies and like to walk out of the theatres with a sense of satisfaction after the hero trounces his villains and walks away with pretty girl in his hand after some high-end action sequences,” says producer Raj Kandukuri.

Whereas, new age director Sudheer Varma who tasted success with concept-driven film ‘Kesava’, has a different take on this trend. “New generation viewers are looking for variety. They are exposed to the cinema world and demanding novel content over mindless action films. 

Some big flops clearly suggest that filmmakers can’t take young viewers for granted and it is healthy development for aspiring film makers,” he concludes.