Will the city regain its lost glory?

Some film distributors and exhibitors are demanding that head office of the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce be located in Vijayawada.

May 01, 2015 12:00 am | Updated 11:08 am IST - VIJAYAWADA:

Tollywood, which has churned out hundreds of films with the ‘love triangle’ as central theme, seems to be caught a triangle of its own after bifurcation.

While the Andhra Pradesh Film Chamber of Commerce (APFCC) and Telangana Film Chamber of Commerce (TFCC) constitute two angles of the triangle, the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce is emerging as the third.

The bone of contention in this affair is, ‘where should the head office of the Telugu Film Chamber of Commerce be located?’ Some film distributors and exhibitors are demanding that it be located in Vijayawada.

A peep into Tollywood history shows that Vijayawada was sort of the first capital of Telugu cinema. After the formation of A.P. in 1956 Vijayawada became a distribution centre for Telugu films and gradually all films that were “exhibited” (industry jargon for ‘screened’) in Andhra Pradesh. The town was also the print capital of the State at the time.

The distributors were powerful in the industry because they were also financiers and often exhibitors. But until NTR became Chief Minister, Madras continued to be the centre for Telugu film production.

In the late 70s there was a paradigm shift in film distribution and exhibition. Because of a quantum increase in the filmgoers and exhibitors the distribution companies were forced to set up offices in district headquarters for logistic convenience. The exhibitors also became more independent from the distributors and began screening films on a rental basis.

In 1978, the distribution companies shifted their head offices from Vijayawada to Hyderabad for the convenience of dealing with the government. NTR too offered incentives to studio owners and ensured that Telugu Motion Picture industry moved completely to Hyderabad. When this happened the old Hyderabad Film Chamber of Commerce (HFCC) and the Andhra Film Chamber of Commerce were merged to form the Andhra Pradesh Film Chamber of Commerce (APFCC).

After the bifurcation, the HFCC was renamed as Telangana film chamber. The APFCC which is finding it difficult to snap the umbilical cord is planning to change its name to Telugu Film Chamber. While the production and distribution companies are in Telangana, the exhibitors and audience of Telugu films are in Andhra Pradesh.

Former APFCC president Y. Rama Chandra Rao said that the film industry should be restored to its former glory in Vijayawada the new capital. The film industry should be treated on par with tourism and given packages to accelerate its growth. Having no objection to the starting of a Telugu Film Chamber, Mr Rama Chandra Rao said that the APFCC should be continued in Vijayawada to deal with the government here.

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