HYDERABAD: Deccani films, made mostly with a budget of around 30 lakh, are facing the brunt of demonetisation. With cashless transactions being pushed, small businessmen-turned-producers in the largely informal film sector do not have the cash to pump into films and pay staff.
A good 70-odd Deccani films were produced in the last 11 years or so. These mostly run in theatres in
Old City
. Some of course have also had a run abroad, especially in US, owing to the profuse use of popular Hyderabadi lingo in these films.
According to sources, producers mostly make payments in cash to people working in such films. Only some of the lead artistes get paid in cheque, that too not completely. Money is largely unaccounted for with the industry being very small. There are at least six films in the making now that are likely to get hit. "Since only a small budget is needed to make Deccani films, if established producers make start making such films, the number of movies produced will not be affected. The ground reality is that these films are not making any money. In this situation, how many people would want to take a chance?" asked filmmaker Ramakrishna, known as RK Mama. There have been many Deccani films that have garnered acclaim such as '
Hyderabad Nawabs
' by Ramakrishna. An earlier film 'The Angrez' directed by
Nikhil Kunta
was also a huge hit.
Over the years, though popular characters that RK introduced like '
Gullu Dada' and '
Saleem Peku
' have been used in films made by other producers, these films have hardly done well. There have been instances where films were screened for a week or two with almost no audience.
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