Recently, Baby fame director Sai Rajesh lamented that many in the film industry have been buying viewership on YouTube, positive reviews on social media, and even 'Likes'. In saying this, he echoed what producer Dil Raju stated last year in the context of another film. "If we buy fake views, we ourselves wouldn't be able to know what percentage of the total views is organic," Raju shared.
Typically, the producers of big-star movies invest loads of money to buy online figures. Sometimes, medium-range and small-scale movies, too, opt for fake views in order to create inorganic hype for their songs/trailers.
The question is, why is not the gaze inward. Dil Raju's speech sounded introspective. Sai Rajesh's speech, too, had that quality. However, they both steered clear of criticizing the culture that facilitates the fakery. Industry cultures thrive in complex ways, something one-off speeches don't address.
There is more. If fake YouTube views are bad, hyperbolic speeches at promotional events are worse. Many times, elements the filmmakers claim their films possess are absent in the actual movie. Green matte shots are projected as real ones shot in live locations. Heroines are praised for delivering awesome performances, while the actual film barely has anything to do with their characters. Yes, filmmakers across film industries advertise their products as awesome. However, the amount of lying that takes place in the Telugu film industry is many shades worse and more frequent.
