But he is confident his team will bounce back
Producer Suresh Babu
Hyderabad: Vizag is slowly getting back to normalcy, but the city’s beauty and charm and its chances of being the next film destination for T’town after Hyderabad is now in question.
So, is Vizag still in the running to become Tollywood’s next base?
Producer Suresh Babu certainly feels so and the veteran, who was in Visakhapatnam on Saturday, to oversee restoration work at the Ramanaidu Studios, explains why the City of Destiny has several advantages.
“It is unfortunate that cyclone Hudhud has caused so much damage, but we have to fight back and work consistently to get things back to normal. As a morale booster to my team at the studio, I’m now planning to shoot a street sequence of my upcoming film Gopala Gopala here,” says Suresh Babu, walking through the rubble from damaged ceilings, floors and other debris.
Talking about the loss to Ramanaidu Studios, Suresh Babu says, “There has been a substantial amount of loss to our studio. The property loss is estimated to be around
Rs 2 crore.
There is also money loss and loss in daily operations. The shooting of a Bengali film was scheduled in the studios, but had to be postponed because of the damage. Likewise, many shootings have been postponed.
We also have a lot of visitors coming in everyday and most of the things at the studio are broken there is hardly anything beautiful left to see,” he says, adding, “I think it will take another two months for the studio to get back to what it was. But, film work will start off soon with the available means.”
Commenting on whether Vizag would still be considered the preferred destination to shift T’town, Suresh Babu says, “Vizag’s lost natural beauty will come back quickly. I’ve been making regular visits to the city after Hudhud and during each trip, I see a difference.
The advantage with Vizag is that the city is located between the sea and the hills. There are a lot of fields located close by and there is also the Araku Valley and the Godavari River.”
The producer has even compared Vizag to Los Angeles. “As a destination, Vizag is good and the city is more like Los Angeles and it is a natural destination for film-making. But, it will take a while for the city to develop in terms of films, unless the government has a plan in mind.
“Also, once the capital is shifted, movements into Hyderabad will gradually reduce and those who want to make films will make them within their own state. They will be the first set of people who will initiate the change. I do not see filmmakers from my generation, who are in Hyderabad, making the shift,” he adds.
Internal troubles:
About the ongoing problems in the film industry, Suresh Babu says, “As far as film shoots are concerned, we did not face any issues. But, there are some leadership issues. For example, people fighting to be the head of the film chambers.
We are also seeing small union-related issues coming up. There is already an existing union and now, new unions are trying to come up and there is a tussle between them asking for more work. We are trying to resolve and nip issues in the bud.
“When a new state is formed, there are expectations that new jobs will be created. The industry is the same and there are the same numbers of jobs. But many Telangana youth expect that there will be new jobs for them, and since they are not getting it, there is a bit of frustration. That has to be sorted out,” he adds.
( Source : dc )
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