If you thought English flicks dubbed in Telugu made for a hilarious movie watching experience, here’s a joke — Tollywood distributors who have bagged the dubbing rights for Hollywood movies are actually laughing their way to the bank. Surprisingly, the dubbed version of the blockbuster, 2012 which released in the state as 2012 Yugantham, grossed the second highest box office collections this year, next only to Magadheera!
2012 Yugantham raked in about Rs 3 crore in the Nizam area alone and is still running successfully across the state. While a few attribute its success to the buzz created around doomsday, many feel that films dubbed in Telugu are successful, thanks to the visual effects.
Vijandar Reddy, distributor and member of AP Film Chamber of Commerce, says,
“The mutliplex crowd may watch the English version, but youngsters in ‘B’ and ‘C’ centres will want to watch the Telugu version. Moreover, the hype surrounding the doomsday prophesy of 2012 had everyone curious.”
In fact, after the resounding success of 2012 Yugantham, there is a mad rush among Telugu film distributors to buy the dubbing rights of all big Hollywood films. New Moon from the Twilight series is releasing as Amavasya and Avatar released in Telugu with the same name. Tagore Madhu from Geetha Film distributors, who bought the dubbing rights for Avatar, claims that big budget English movies make great business here as local movie buffs enjoy the visual treat and the grandeur of these films.
“We are releasing Avatar in Telugu in about 125 theatres across the state. James Cameroon spent about Rs 2,400 crore on this film while here the costliest movie remains Magadheera, made with Rs 40 crore. Telugu movies cannot offer such special effects. I am sure we will make profits in less than a week.”
Local distributors buy the dubbing rights of English, Chinese and films from other languages for anywhere between Rs 4 lakh to Rs 4 crore, depending on the hype surrounding the movie. Producers consider investing in these movies a safer bet than putting their money in local films. Film critic P. Sarath Kumar attributes this craze for dubbed films to the lack of creativity in Telugu movies. “Most of our movies are remakes of English flicks. No wonder then that audiences prefer watching the original dubbed in Telugu rather than watching copies. Telugu film makers need to offer something new to draw people to the theatres,” he adds.
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