In Tolewood, the most authentic tradition of hosting successful parties becomes a spectacle of disguise. Despite the poor opening and the box office failure, many filmmakers are still holding grand celebrations that blur the line between true success and desperate marketing heads.
Among the nearly 20 recent flops—Odela 2, Robinhood, Arjun s/o Vyjayanthi, Mazaka, Jack, Laila, Shanmukha, 28 Degree Celsius, Akkada Abbai Ikkada Aamayi, Chaurya Paatam, and Saranganii Jathakam—many still hold laborate events, complete with fireworks and cake-cutting. “You can’t attract crowds with cookies and cakes. Sooner or later, filmmakers will realize that these techniques cannot deceive today’s audiences.”
In a persuasive case, the producer organizes opportunities for success, not to celebrate the box office blow, but to comfort a lead actor struggling with repeated failures. “The actors even took a vacation to celebrate, but within a few days the truth about the bad movie performance surfaced. The event was more about retaining the actor’s feelings than acknowledging real success.”
Although collectibles are rarely raised, the luxurious promotional tour – the flying cast and crew are also common, as is the case with cities like Vizag and Vijayawada. Varadareddy added: “Some people still think these heads can create fantasies of success, but now the audience is smarter. These strategies are losing their effect.”
Today, word of mouth and solid content really drive the success of the film. The true winners of the season – Sankranthi Vasthunam, Mad Square, Court, Court and 3 hits 3 – gained their status through quality and strong audience reception, not just marketing.
“Back to the day, successful meetings were held 50 or 100 days after the movie was played, which really meant something,” Varadareddy recalls. “Now, they were held on the day of release or the next day, usually just to keep their appearance. Even the actors were instructed to go back to attend these events before flying.”
Even in Bollywood and Collywood, such events have been organized, he said, but it is certainly necessary to return to celebrating true success, not fabricated.
