Bigger budgets, pan-Indian reach and better pay: Why top Tamil director are crossing over to Tollywood?

Telugu cinema has recently become an attractive destination for A-list Tamil directors. While Atlee and Lokesh Kanagaraj have big-ticket films lined up with Allu Arjun, buzz is that Nelson Dilipkumar, too, is in talks to direct a film starring Jr NTR. We speak to industry insiders about the reasons such a creative migration is taking place...

‘DIRECTORS WANT PAN-INDIAN PROJECTS’Stressing that this movement of Tamil directors to Telugu cinema is not unusual, G Dhananjheyan, producer, believes that the filmmakers are simply responding to the possibility of working on a larger cinematic canvas. “It’s time to treat filmmakers with high potential as pan-Indian directors and not restrict them to Tamil cinema,” he shares.




He adds, “Filmmaking today offers opportunities across the country, not just in Telugu but also in Hindi. Many directors from here, like Prabhudeva, AR Murugadoss, Atlee and RS Prasanna, have succeeded in Hindi. Many of our directors are also making films in Telugu and Kannada. This shift has got more to do with them wanting to do pan-Indian projects with bigger appeal.”

While some fans have expressed a sense of betrayal on social media, Sameer Bharat Ram, producer, calls for professional autonomy. “Filmmakers are professionals. They have every right to work in any industry and with any actors they choose. That freedom shouldn’t even be questioned,” he states.

‘TAMIL PRODUCERS CANNOT AFFORD ₹50 CRORE SALARY TO A DIRECTOR’The shift is purely driven by economics, states Dhananjheyan. “The Telugu film industry has big production houses, which can roll out projects in the budget range of ₹500-750 crore. In Tamil, there are limited producers with such capacity. Hence, directors with big-budget scripts have to take up films with producers from the Telugu industry.” A source, who wished to remain anonymous, concurs. “Today, except for a couple of production houses, no Tamil producer is in a position to pay a ₹50 crore salary to a director. Here, most producers work independently and are entrepreneurs. Telugu cinema is more of a conglomerate. If the budget of the film doesn’t go up, directors can’t ask for more salary. So, the easy option is to do a Telugu or Hindi project.” Another source sums up, “The problem here is that if a director has one film that’s a big hit, we make brands out of them. These directors going elsewhere won’t affect the industry, but rather open up the market. Why should Kollywood be dependent only on a Lokesh or an Atlee?”

Not enough Tamil stars to back mega-budget films?The other reason being touted for this migration is that there are very few actors in Tamil cinema who can anchor a mega-budget outing. “If Vijay had continued with acting, someone could easily roll out a ₹400-500 crore film starring him. Such an option is unviable here except for a film with Rajinikanth. The market isn’t expanding in Tamil,” says Dhananjheyan. In comparison, Telugu cinema has pan-Indian actors like Allu Arjun and Prabhas who can expand the market of a film while Kannada has Yash, he adds. make a project. So, they will obviously choose a film that gives a ₹50 crore salary over one that pays them ₹20 crore — SourceGet the latest entertainment updates from the Times of India, along with the latest Hindi movies, upcoming Hindi movies in 2026 , and Telugu movies.”