Tollywood

Telugu is the third-largest spoken language in India after Hindi and Bengali. Telugu movie industry is based in the state of Andhra Pradesh in India. After Bollywood (Nickname for Hindi Movie Industry), more number of movies are made in Telugu every year than any other language in India[citation needed]. The first Telugu film Bhishma Pratigna was made in 1922 by R.S. Prakash. Yaragudipati Varada Rao (1903-1973) was another notable contributor to the Telugu movie industry. He was an actor and director, who directed silent films like Pandava Nirvana, Pandava Agnathavaas in 1930 and Hari Maya in 1932. The first Telugu talkie Bhakta Prahlada, was released in 1931. It was directed by Hanumappa Muniappa Reddy. Most of the initial Telugu talkies released had mythological stories that drawed inspiration from the vibrant Telugu drama and stage industry. In 1936, Krittiventi Nageswara Rao made the first Telugu film not based on myhtology, Premavijayam. This film influenced other telugu film-makers into making such films. Some popular themes of these films (often called 'social' films) were the feudal Zamindari system (Raitu Bidda, 1939), the concept of untouchables(Mallapilla, 1938), and widow remarriage. Since then, there have been both 'social'(contemporary) and mythological or folk stories in Telugu cinema. Kasinadhuni Viswanath is among the more notable directors of recent times. His movies are well known for both his beautiful portrayal of Indian culture and value system as well as for thought provoking depiction of moral issues concerning contemporary society.
Currently, about 150 Telugu movies are released every year with approximately two releases every week. Despite the exponential growth in terms of the number of movies released every year, only a small percentage of movies have satisfactory artistic appeal. Contemporary Telugu film industry leaves much to be desired in terms of novelty, realism and language. However a small number of brilliant movies continue to be released every year. In 2005, the annual turnover reached to Rs. 2.3 Billion ($52 Million) on ticket sales of 700 million. Popular movies tend to open during the three festive seasons of the region: Sankranthi, Summer, and Dushera. In 2004, the total business for the Sankranthi season was around Rs. 1.5 Billion (150 Crores). There are at least three TV channels that are dedicated exclusively to feature programs related to Telugu movies.
Below is a chart of box office collections of Tollywood with figures in millions of Indian Rupees.
Year
Tollywood Box Office
1980...............................819
1985...............................1,526
1990...............................3,333
1995................................7,985
2000..............................14,011
2005..............................23,044

Telugu film industry accounts for 1% of the gross state domestic product of Andhra Pradesh.

Budgets


Akkineni Nagarjuna as Akhil in Super (2005).
The budgets for Telugu movies typically range between 7-15 crores per film. Pre-lease revenues for popular films can range between 12-20 crores per film and post-release business for these movies can be around 25-50 crores depending on the success of the movie. . popular actors like Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Superstar Krishna, Megastar Chiranjeevi,Balakrishna, Akkineni Nagarjuna, Venkatesh, Pawan Kalyan, Mahesh Babu and Jr NTR are some of the highest paid actors in Tollywood.

Fans
Well-known stars of Tollywood have devoted fan followings in the South.Chiranjeevi leads the list of actors. , Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Superstar Krishna, Chiranjeevi, Balakrishna, Akkineni Nagarjuna, Venkatesh, Pawan Kalyan and Mahesh Babu are very popular and enjoy a significant fan following among the Telugu movie audience.

Trivia
The first Telugu talkie movie - Bhakta Prahlada Produced by H. M. Reddy was released in 1931.
80 Telugu films were made in the first five years after the release of Bhakta Prahlada.
The long-time Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, N. T. Rama Rao, was an alumnus of Tollywood.