Director Teja’s boldly eccentric speech at ‘Hora Hori’ audio launch function has ignited plenty of debates on deteriorating story standards of Telugu cinema. All those who knew Teja from close can understand his inner feelings and he is of course unshaken by flood of positive and negative reactions on social networking attacking and appeasing his speech. When Teja is rubbed on the same side, he strokes a few dashing answers.
‘I am not worried about responses from few individuals. Industry is important for me. Many of the highly respected film stalwarts told me they agree with what I said. So, I have no regrets. I’ve been a part of industry from last 8 to 9 years. So, I can perceive easily on what our audience are expecting now. They are asking for a change.
I recently collected data from Film Chamber on number of audiences watched ‘Jayam, Bahubali, Magadheera’ and ‘Pokiri.’ To my surprise, people who saw ‘Jayam’ are more than ‘Bahubali.’ In last few years, people turn outs at theaters has come down. During those ‘Jayam’ times, ticket price was Rs.20 but now it’s Rs.150. In fact, ‘Jayam’ was made in a budget of Rs.1.8 Crores and it reaped huge profits of Rs.32 Crores,’ Teja said.
Well, Teja definitely thinks ‘Bahubali’ smaller before his own ‘Jayam.’ If collections alone does not matter, then Teja might be right in his own frame of reference.