Telugu Cinema in the 70s – 1

The 70′s played an important role in shaping Telugu cinema. For years ANR and NTR had been ruling the industry. ‘Domination’ isn’t altogether an inappropriate word. People perhaps weren’t yet tired of their favorite stars. After all, there were fewer movies released, fewer theaters, and no TV. But change, some say, is the only eternal truth.

The beauty is that the change here seemed natural, gradual, seamless. Unless we compare the late 70′s with the late 60′s, the breadth and depth of what had happened over the 70′s will not be apparent. That being an extremely ambitious project, I shall mow it down into parts.

I suspect that the film industry itself got bored. The same faces day after day. Along with age increases the proximity to death, physical and sometimes creative. New faces were not just in demand, they became a necessity. Young blood began trickling in. It gave a new life to the now old Telugu cinema, new waves came ashore.

The industry gradually shifted to Hyderabad. ANR’s Annapurna Studios was ready. Other studios were coming up. Actors turned producers. With stakes getting higher, people were also on the lookout for ways to commercialize movies, attract more people. The matured industry became bolder and attempted to reinvent itself.

Color movies weren’t a rarity anymore. With those came a demand for the costumes and make-up departments. Stunts, songs and masala became spices and condiments in movie-making recipes. Songs, especially, with the innate capability to linger in people’s minds long after the movie is over were given special importance irrespective of their need (and there by denaturalized). The tradition of a compulsory song for comedians was soon getting replaced with a compulsory “item song”. The concept of “front benchers” became well-defined. Cleavage was how they did it!

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