To start with, a teaser: What's common between films like Gharshana, Gudumba Shankar, Sri Anjaneyam, Siva Shankar, Donga Donagi?

Well, obviously they were all big budget films that bit the dust, right?

Partly yes. The other thing about these films is that the producers feel that they were all done by the menace of VCD piracy.

"But for piracy, my film would have done well", claims one of the producers. His views find an echo in the words of distributors too.

With VCD menace reaching new heights, Tollywood is still trying to grapple with the enormity of the problem. According to one estimate, the industry loses anywhere between Rs.350 to Rs.400 crore due to pirated VCDs.

Most of the films bank on early collections. But this is no more possible as VCDs hit the market almost simultaneously.

Superstar Chiranjeevi feels the solutions lies with the people. But other actors feel that the government should step in and come up with strong laws (Existing laws merely take cognizance of piracy as cheating).

But some others feel that the best way of tackling VCDs is to make it legal. Just like selling the audio and telecast rights, why not sell the video rights too, is the general refrain.

Such a move has helped Bollywood. If it can work in Mumbai why not in Hyderabad?