Tough tug-of-war among producers over 50 cr pie

The General Body Meeting of Andhra Pradesh Film Chamber of Commerce recently, reportedly suspended a couple of top-level office-bearers for tacitly supporting rival producers body LLB(Limited Liability), a 12-member syndicate, for eating into their advertisement revenues to the tune of Rs 50 crore which is earned as commission for releasing film-promotions on various channels.

“These few office-bearers were playing a double game of sorts and supporting the activities of LLB at the cost of Producers Council. In fact, action against them was long-overdue and more heads set to roll. At last, the newly-elected body of Andhra Pradesh Film Chamber of Commerce cracked the whip and showed them the door,” says producer N Padmini, chairman, Producers’ Sector of Andhra Pradesh Film Chamber of Commerce.

Actually, 800-odd Telugu film producers air their film advertisements at discount rates to grab the eyeballs of film viewers on various General Entertainment Channels (GEC) at 1/4 of their original rate per minute. “Telugu Film Producers Council is official and appropriate body meant for the welfare of hundreds of producers But 10 to 12 members formed a separate syndicate some time ago and were usurping Rs 50 to 60 crore per annum on 100-odd Telugu films, while print media pockets another chunk of ad revenue,’ adds producer Nayimuddin.

“Only two years ago, LLB came into existence with the backing of Dil Raju, Allu Anand, Suresh Babu, Damodar Prasad and others and ran parallel to producers guild and demean the value of council,” discloses producer Mohan Goud. However, an LLB member defends the new body, “We established LLB to reduce the cost of ad revenue and each producer saved Rs 25 lakh per film.

Since four news channels are telecasting film ads for Rs 1,200 against usual Rs 5,000 rate, saving loads of money for producers,’, Countering the argument, producer C N Rao adds “The membership of LLB is gradually shrinking from double to single digit and bound to shut shop, since majority of producers are opposing it.

If they really want to establish a separate body, they should first quit the council and do whatever they want. Surely, not at the cost of legitimate income for producers council which provides insurance, financial help for ailing producers and spends money for other welfare measures,” he concludes