Directors ,the new celebrities

Gone are the days when director’s names were relegated to obscure corners of film posters. Tollywood today has undergone a major shift from being a hero-centric industry to a director-centric one. The big directors in the industry now are as popular as the actors and their names are crowd-pullers themselves. From S.S. Rajamouli, Puri Jagannadh and Krishna Vamsi to V.V. Vinayak, Shekhar Kammula and Krish Radhakrishna, directors are fast becoming celebrities in their own right.



What’s more, these directors don’t restrict themselves to making films. From walking the red carpet at award ceremonies to playing celebrity judges and participants on reality TV, they are fast going onscreen from behind-the-scenes. Recently, director V.V. Vinayak was chosen to be the chief guest on a dance show on television while Rajamouli was the star participant on another.



Film Nagar sources claim that most of these star directors charge anywhere between Rs 2 crore and Rs 6 crore as remuneration. Shyam Prasad Reddy, senior filmmaker and president of the AP Film Producer’s Council, says, “Producers don’t mind paying the directors big bucks, because they are successful. When their names are associated with the movie, the audience can be sure that the movie is worth watching.”



Interestingly, these directors don’t make too many movies. They maintain the hoopla surrounding their name by doing one film an year a la big Tollywood actors. Krishna Vamsi who reportedly charges more than Rs 2 crore per film, says,
“Producers are not stupid to pay whatever we demand. They pay us for what we are worth. There is no fixed scale as such that dictates how much a director should be paid. When he is directly responsible for the fate of the movie, what’s wrong in charging good money? The director’s name in itself is saleable now.”


Actors who were the only ones who hogged the limelight till now, attribute the directors’ new-found celebrity status to the new stories they are coming up with. Actor Allari Naresh who aspires to be a director himself and earned a Nandi award recently for Gamyam, directed by Krish Radha Krishna says, “The popularity of directors has grown phenomenally and is on par with Bollywood directors. Filmmakers like Shekhar Kammula and Krish Radhakrishna have come up with innovative concepts and stories and have made stars out of debutantes. That’s what has made them popular.”



Actor Sharwanand couldn’t agree more. “Each director is known for a certain brand of cinema now. For instance, people know that Sreenu Vytla’s movies will be comic entertainers. They are the ones who run the show, so the importance being given to them now is justified.”