A recent Tollywood media report states that the OTT revenue stream has dried up so tremendously that some films are not being lapped up by streaming platforms, even when producers offer them for free. The report aligns with what has been admitted by filmmakers, actors and directors in interviews in the past one year. (Some projects land excellent OTT deals, while others get to release on pay-per-view terms. But the number of films that are not able to land any OTT deals is going up.)
The alarming situation in Tollywood is not sudden. The industry's biggest deficiency has been felt on the front of directing talent. Hardly any young filmmaker delivers more than one hit in five years. And that's a big ask in an industry where the failure rate is a distressing 90%. By implication, most debutants don't deliver even a single hit.
Recently, an industry insider noted that many directors overshoot their initial budget outlays, leaving their producers in the lurch. Out of 'guilt' (though only the naive believe it’s actual remorse for their inefficiency), these directors offer to help their novice producers by brokering digital and satellite deals. While their primary function is creative, many are increasingly trading their director’s chair for a seat at the bargaining table.
Year 2026 has been extraordinarily silly:
Year after year, the movies made by young filmmakers are becoming unbearable. Just this year, look at the number of supremely bad movies they have churned out: Psych Siddhartha, Vanaveera, Om Shanti Shanti Shantihi, Barabar Premistha, Hey Balwanth, Nawab Cafe, Vishnu Vinyasam, Sampradayini Suppini Suddapoosani, Band Melam, Bad Boy Karthik, and Papam Prathap. These are just the relatively notable ones. One of them features Sree Vishnu. Another features Suhas. Band Melam was brought out by Kona Venkat. SSS and Papam Prathap were backed by ETV Win. Psych Siddhartha was backed by Rana Daggubati. Each of them was unwatchable. Some of them were a torture to watch. (Side note: Papam Prathap was so retarded that giving it even 0.5 stars would be akin to dignifying its garbage-level content).
Tollywood is now irredeemable:
The industry has now reached a point of no return. Big-scale movies will continue to be in the making for long periods; and most of them will not make distributors rich. And most young directors are unworthy candidates to begin with.
Since Tollywood can't be saved at this point, what is the solution? If you are an NRI, a real estate magnate, a rich techie with generational wealth or a government servant itching to invest in movies, just don't do it. Tollywood is a sinkhole.
