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This article is about the Telugu film industry [Tollywood] For the Bengali film industry, click here.

Tollywood (టాలీవుడ్) refers to the Telugu language film industry. The name derives the concept from Hollywood (similar to Bollywood and Kollywood), Telugu + Hollywood. Sometimes, the term Tollywood is also used to refer to the Bengali cinema industry as a mix of Tollygunge + Hollywood.

Industry

(1 crore = 10,000,000 rupees, approximately US$230,000 or €190,000 on May 11, 2005.)

Tollywood is based in the state of Andhra Pradesh in southern India.

Between 100 and 150 Telugu Tollywood films are released each year. There were generally two releases on average each week in 2005 and annual turnover reached Rs.23,044 million ($522 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 150 crores. There are at least three TV channels, which exclusively feature programs relating to Telugu movies.

This is a chart of trend 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.

Crossover with Bollywood and Kollywood

Many famous Bollywood actresses often take time to do Telugu movies, mainly due to the large salaries^{[citation needed]} and the quick pace of production. Well-known stars like Sonali Bendre and Amisha Patel charged a sum of 75 lakhs^{[citation needed]}, while smaller stars like Katrina Kaif are paid a handsome 70 lakhs^{[citation needed]}. Sadaf, Bhumika Chawla and Charmi (all Bombay girls) charge 50-60 lakhs per film^{[citation needed]}. Trisha, Shriya, Genelia - the leading female stars are paid 30-40 lakhs per film^{[citation needed]}, depending on the number of days they shoot.

For young heroines, waiting for a break in Bollywood - telugu movies are good place to begin with and are considered a gateway. This is because Tollywood is the second biggest movie market in India after Bollywood [[1], [2] and the work there is closely monitored by the big names in Hindi film industry who are on the lookout for storylines to remake and fresh talent be it actors or technicians.

Budgets

(1 crore = 10,000,000 rupee, approximately US$230,000 or €190,000 on May 11, 2005.)

File:TeluguMovieSuper.jpg

Akkineni Nagarjuna as Akhil in Super (2005).

The budget of Telugu movies is usually between 7-15 crores per film, and the pre-release revenue range for popular films is about 12-20 crores per film^{[citation needed]}. The post release business of super hits is around 25-35 crores^{[citation needed]}.

Fans

Well-known stars of Tollywood have devoted fan followings in the South. In particular, heroes like N. T. Rama Rao, Chiranjeevi (who has higest fans in andhra pradesh is also well known for converting all the energies of big fan following into positive channels to do charity. ) enjoy a God-like worship from fans. Many fans also participate in social activities during movie releases. Celebrations 50 or 100 days after a films release, on Silver Jubilees and on the stars' birthdays are also common and they are organized not only in India but also in other countries where telugu population is significant

Kamma Dominance

Tollywood was and continues to be dominated by Kammas. Barring a few Kapus the leading stars of Tollywood tend to be Kammas. N. T. Rama Rao and A. Nageswara Rao both Kammas were the founding pillars of the Telugu movie industry. Members of their extended family continue to dominate the industry. Nagarjuna, Venkatesh, Balakrishna, Mahesh Babu and NTR Jr are a few Kamma stars. The Kamma dominance extends to producers and directors as well. Among producers, Aswani Dutt is considered the backbone of the industry. Kapu stars like Megastar Chiranjeevi and Powerstar Pawan Kalyan often turn to Aswani Dutt for his ability to synergise a blockbuster. K.Raghavendra Rao is considered the most versatile director and has contributed to the success of virtually every star in Tollywood.

Telugu film personalities

Miscellaneous

The longtime Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, N. T. Rama Rao, was a famous alumnus of Tollywood.
Sri Sri was the lyricist of 39 Tollywood films.
One notable Telugu film is Sankaraabharanam(శంకరాభరణం), directed in 1979 by Dr. K. Viswanath for Poornodaya Art Creations (Producer: Edida Nageswara Rao).

External links

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 ==External links==
+*[http://www.teluguboard.com The Telugu Community Portal]
 *[http://www.telugu-cinema-reviews.blogspot.com Telugu cinemas Detailed discussions on telugu movies]
 *[http://www.telugu-cards.com Telugu-Cards.comProviding entertainement to the whole telugu community]