Who is to blame?

The spectacular fiasco of Narasimhudu and the subsequent suicide bid by its producer Chengal Venkat Rao has brought the spotlight on the economics of filmmaking in Tollywood.

"The way we are making our films is just unsustainable," says a former producer, who has stopped making films because of the existing system.

The main grouse, though not vocally spelt out, is the existing star system.

Telugu industry is totally sold on star system, says Sivaprasad Rao, a leading media critic.

Rather making a film with a hero, directors and producers here make a film for a hero. "This is an one-way route for disaster," he says.

When you make a film for hero, you become subservient to his image and you can’t improvise or plan a lot. You do what he wants you on the sets.

He wants to you go abroad, you do it. He wants such and such heroine to be cast, you do it. Everything leads to a cost spiral, says another director on conditions of anonymity.

And then there is the remuneration for the stars. It is just unsustainable at present levels, he points out.

Says Sivaprasad Rao, "cinema by its very nature is risky. Nobody will crib over that. But it is the extra danger in the form of star system that is killing the industry".