19 October 2006
Hyderabad

Most of the Tamil films are being dubbed and released in Telugu these days. For every original new film that releases on Friday there are atleast two dubbed releases alongside. Idlebrain.com spoke to some producers to know more about this trend of dubbed films being released in a flood. Here are the reasons -

You see the entire film before you buy it
Ram (of SS Communications who is dubbing 'Mounam Pasiyade' in Telugu as Kanchu) says, "If we have to make an original film, we have to completely depend on director. Sometimes we are not sure if director will do justice to the script he has narrated. We could end up spending crores without having a clue about what the end product is going to be like.In dubbed films, we have the finished product with us and all that is required is a a bit of judgment. I prefer doing dubbed films anyday.”

You end up making profits in most of the dubbed films
Director Nidhi Prasad who is a keen observer and shrewd analyst of the film industry says, "Most of the dubbed film producers make money because the investment is less. When the investment is in tens of lakhs, it is easy to mobilise money and sell it across with good promotional material."

Skyrocketing remunerations of stars for original Telugu films
Ram adds, "It cost me around 25 - 30 lakhs to dub my film Kanchu (Surya & Trisha). With 25 lakhs I can't get dates from any any decent hero. The skyrocketing remunerations are forcing producers to opt for dubbed films. Producing dubbing films is easier than distributing a straight film in any of the territory. Any medium range actor's Guntur territory rates are higher than the cost of producing a dubbed film. There is good profit. I sold Nizam rights of Kanchu for 21 lakhs."

More money through satellite rights
TV channels are eager to buy more and more film content. For them these dubbed films would be very profitable. They can buy them at cheaper price and use 3 hours of their free time to telecast these films. The satellite rights would cost a little bit to the channels and covers the major investment for the dubbed producers.

We need to drive the dubbing films out of competition by making quality straight films - Tammareddy
Director producer Tammareddy Bharadwaja who has vast experience in this industry since decades said, "Dubbed films guarantee 70% - 80% openings whereas originals with a similar profile fail to attract crowds in the same numbers. This shows that audience have more confidence in dubbed films rather than the others. We need to compete and produce quality straight Telugu films in order to drive the dubbing films out of competition.”

The Year 2005 did the trick
2005 turned out to be a remarkable year for dubbed films in Telugu. The super success of films like Chandramukhi, Aparichutudu, Ghazani, Premiste and Manmadha were an unprecedented craze. Most people related to the film industry started becoming producers of dubbed films.

Some dubbed films are not cheap
Certain heroes and directors of the Tamil film industry charge quite a premium. Films of Mani Ratnam and Shankar cost a lot. Among the heroes Rajnikant, Kamal Hassan, Vikram and Surya are in demand. All films of Shankar are commercial hits in Telugu. Hence Shankar is the number one dubbing director. Rajnikant is the number one dubbing hero. Shivaji, that has the enviable combination of Rajnikant and Shankar is being quoted a high price in its dubbed version. The grapevine has it that the dubbing rights of Shivaji cost around 10 crores in Telugu. Kamal Hassan's latest Tamil hit Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu is commanding a premium of two crores for the Telugu dubbing rights. Aparichitudu and Ghazani have made Vikram and Surya hot properties in Telugu.

How much does it cost to make a dubbing film?
The dubbing rights for an average Tamil film cost anywhere between 5 lakhs to 10 lakhs. The cost involved in dubbing the voices and doing mixing again would cost anywhere around 5 lakhs to 15 lakhs. Advertising and promotion might cost a few lakhs. If you have 20 to 30 lakhs in your pocket, you could become a dubbing film producer. Your film would be bought by TV channels for at least 25% of the budget. And your distributor makes money if that film runs well for a couple of weeks. The only problem for exhibitor is that he would end up may more entertainment tax comapred to a straight Telugu film.

Ban on dubbing films?
There are rumours going on in film nagar that there could be a ban on dubbing films as these dubbing films are affecting the market of small straight Telugu films in a big way. We have to wait and see how AP Film Producers Counsel is going to react to it.

Due to the reasons mentioned above, it is that dubbing film business that is flourishing in Andhra Pradesh and it is the business in which everybody makes money.