Money speaks all languages
- IndiaGlitz, [Wednesday,September 15 2004]
If you are a dyed-in-the-wool Telugu man, just stay away from Tollywood in the coming weeks.
You obviously will be pained to see the rash of films being dubbed (as opposed to remade) in Telugu from Tamil.
Many passionate Telugu cine goers are already asking is there a paucity of local talent in Tollywood.
One dialogue writer carped: "writing dialogues for remakes was bad enough. Now we are made to eat our self-respect more through dubbed films".
Just consider this list: Kamal Haasan's Virumandi as Pothuraja, Sarathkumar's Divan as Rajasekhar Reddy, Surya's Peralagan as Sundarngudu (Venky has dropped the idea of a remake), Sriram's Manasellam as Manasanthaa, Vikram's Samurai as Samurai and Madhavan's Jey, Jey as Jey, Jey.
These are some of the films that are ready to hit the screens. But why such a slew of dubbed films?
It all boils down to simple economics, say industry experts. The risk involved in film-making has risen manifold and it doesn't make sense to invest in virgin projects, they say.
In dubbed versions, the investment is small and hence the risk low. And moreover, the heroes, thanks to the media, have a pan regional appeal.
Economics may triumph. But what about aesthetics?
Well that is the biggest casualty.
When money speaks all languages, who cares whether it is dubbed or not.