The arrest of film producer Juvvala Raju in a prostitution racket with actresses Saira Bhanu and Jyothi has come as an eye-opener for many who thought that showbiz was all glitz and glamour.Raju is not the first, and most probably won’t be the last producer who has gone astray to make both ends meet. Producer of Yuvatha, Hemanth Ramakrishna sold fake brown sugar and another producer, K. V. Rao had to resort to selling drugs. Director Raghunath Reddy, who made Jallu, was recently arrested by the Kukatpally police for theft. The director broke a leg while jumping off the building after stealing.
The tales are many. A producer, who was also an MLA, jumped into the Hussain Sagar Lake after suffering losses; some have absconded while others have been kidnapped or have staged them. The stories are as gripping as the losses their movies made.
In an industry where fates are decided every Friday, only a few big names like the Allus, Akkinenis, Daggubatis and Manchus have managed to sustain for long. With rising production costs, poor scripts, sky-rocketing remunerations and the theatre mafia refusing to give good theatres, a single flop often throws a producer’s life out of gear.
Senior filmmakers claim that the financial blow now is so severe that it is impossible for an amateur producer to recover from the loss. As a result they often take to crime.
“Everyone wants to produce movies these days. They have no clue about the industry. They go wrong in everything and end up losing money,” says senior filmmaker Thammareddy Bharadwaja.
Dasarath, a director who spent crores on Mumait Khan’s Target went absconding to escape financial debts. Of the 1,800 registered producers in Tollywood, less than 100 are seriously making movies and the rest are nowhere to be seen.
“This is business and people entering it should estimate the risks. Most of these small time producers don’t understand showbiz economics. They can’t justify their crime citing losses as a reason,” says Natti Kumar, joint secretary, Telugu Film Producers’ Council.
Though loss is a by-product of any business, for film producers who have an access to actresses, prostitution and drug trafficking becomes easier. “Unlike others, producers have access to actors and thus prostitution, drugs etc. become easy for them. Newbies get exploited easily. A lot of them therefore end up doing shady businesses with actresses,” explains Venkatanarayana, a bank employee who made the movie Cell with a budget of Rs 50 lakh and ended up with 50 per cent losses.
Behind the scenes
* Producer of Junior NTR and Sameera Reddy starrer Narasimhudu, Chengala Venkata Rao who was also a TDP MLA then, jumped into Hussain Sagar lake due to losses.
* Hemanth Rama Krishna, producer of Nikhil starrer Yuvatha was caught selling fake brown sugar. He told the police that he got into it due to financial losses.
* K.V. Rao, a producer was caught in a drug case by the Madhapur police recently.
* Dasarath, the maker of Mumait Khan starrer Target went missing from his house due to financial losses after making a movie.
* Raghunath Reddy, director of Jallu was caught stealing from an apartment in KPHB.
