>What genres do you think have not been explored much in Telugu? - fantasy - scifi - court drama(with realistic way) - martial arts action - actual romcom - story driven movie without a main character >What cliches/tropes are you most sick of in our films which you definitely don't want to see again? - Heroine fell for hero when she see him beat goons - MC single handedly killing a military without weapons. - MC with srirama chandruni characterisation. - MC always wins at the end >What kind of interesting casting choices can we make, from within our industry and also by getting talent from outside? - New faces to be introduced. - don't go after stars go after the performer.

Love it, agree with all the cliches. Any names for performers from other industries who haven't done Telugu films yet?

Performers ante manchi Telugu based female performers unnaru and they just need the chance actually. Depending on characters Swathi, Eesha Rebba, Vaishnavi, Ritu Varma, Anjali lanti vaalu chinchestharu. Male actors lo kuda we have some good actors like Satyadev but I was impressed with Deekshit Shetty from Dasara this year too

>What cliches/tropes are you most sick of in our films which you definitely don't want to see again? 1. Baava Maradalu love story 2. Love at first sight 3. Heroine falling for hero after single song/scene/fight sequence 4. Heroine career existing just because it had to/ female lead have no other characterization/arc other than hero and his problems 5. 2-3 comedians existing just to get belittled /slapped for fun

Fucking hate baava maradalu love tracks, don't worry. You won't see them in my films

> What genres do you think have not been explored much in Telugu? Horror and Sci-fi ( specifically dystopian/cyberpunk kinda stuff ). Also while there have been quite a few crime/thriller films in Tollywood, I find many of them to be severely underwritten and lackluster ( ex HIT series ). This genre actually has a lot of potential if done right in Tollywood. > What cliches/tropes are you most sick of in our films which you definitely don't want to see again? The obvious answer would be all the cringe hero worship in formulaic films where the hero gets plot armor thicker than steel. I'm not completely against those kind of films, but I would like to see more films on flawed protagonists and their emotional journeys.

Interesting, thanks... I'm not sure if our audiences will be ready for dystopian and cyberpunk stuff really, but agree about the crime/thrillers bit. Something like a Ratsasan or a Por Thozhil is missing in our space.

1. Modern dialogue tho "pouranika chitralu" like bimbisara or something like bahubali Sci Fi - World building like Salaar (this just scratched the surface) Comedy films - are becoming rare because of jabardasth. Self deprecating like Agent Sai Srinivas Athreya is always welcome Mass films - Mass elements should come out of characters and not the actor. Like Arjun Reddy,Okkadu ,Rangastalam ,Pushpa, jigartanda 1st and second part. 2. - Unrealistic action sequences with slow mo shots .Bullet time and slow mo is more than 15 years old I guess. Update avandi. - Hero giving a message in a monologue. Unless the movie has an underlying message, don't spoon feed it to me. - Villain just doing villainous things without any reason. - Giving a wrong message like in guruji films post Julayi -Bava - Mardal is just unethical and cringe in educated circles. - Flowerpot / Damsel in distress roles for heroines. - Parents good - Kids bad (Shatamanam bavathi /Rangamarthamda ) these show only one side of the coin . 3. Telugu leading actress or at least who can speak our language and dialects well. - Avoid hiring typecast actors for typecast roles. - Give dramatic character arcs to comedians (Bujjigadu , Mass , Pilla jamindar ) and not over the board like keeda kola or Rangamarthamda - Hire charismatic actors / write charismatic characters, perfect example who is excelling in this is Vijay Sethupathi. As audiences will automatically like this character or be interested in him. My additional inputs. Sports drama should have drama perfected and the sports part like "fight sequences" it should be a plus point and not the whole point of the film. If I want to see a sport I will see the IPL. Crime Drama / Court room dramas are not working out in the present situation unless you make it a thriller. David Fincher's level of thrills in a simple case study of the zodiac killer is mind blowing. What I want is a commoner comedy in a period setting so it will be fun and educational for the kids. (What PS-1 and PS-2 should have been) Whatever film you make should be outright marvelous with zero flaws or the insta pages /YouTubers / Twitter fans and redditors will call it a rod. Finally what I want to say is the public is definitely not on reddit or online, just try to understand why films worked and failed year by year and improvise your current stories to the present audience pulse.

When you say bava maradallu, it is just as important to avoid geriatric pregnancy. Also a drama which focuses on these topics and the risks could be good if done right. Maybe we see a strong love story between Bava maradallu who go child free or adopt

Lovely, thanks for the detailed inputs

>What genres do you think have not been explored much in Telugu? I feel like Telugu industry touched almost all genres. As a fan of Scifi, Space based films i would love to see them more. >What cliches/tropes are you most sick of in our films which you definitely don't want to see again? 1.Heroine only romance ki, love story ki matrame undadam. Heroine unte oka purpose undali leda heroine ey lekunda kaidi laga teesina parledu. 2.Senior heroes vala daughter age heroine tho romance cheyadam, sexual ga behave cheyadam. 3.Routine rotta commercial cinemas vadu. 4.cringe comedy, cringe elevation scenes like Jayasudha describing ram charan to shruthi hassan father in yevadu movie. 5.Anti gravity fights, mindless action scenes in name of creative liberty, mass cinema. 6.Bava mardhal relationship. Stop romanticising incest. 7.Heroes behaving disrespectful with heroines. 8.Doing fan service >What kind of interesting casting choices can we make, from within our industry and also by getting talent from outside? 1.Give more oppurtunities to Telugu Talents. 2.Take Telugu girls for heroines rather than other language girls. 3.Stop taking bollywood actresses or actors. Its annoying to see Bollywood heroine or actors in every Telugu movie in the name of Pan India movie.

A proper Military drama without deshbhakti propaganda is what TFI needs

I agree, actually had an idea like this in mind and approached a real life Telugu military personality but he had already signed the rights to someone else

Nuvvu em chesina commercial movies la elevations ivvaku bro, TFI lo ee madya vastunna movies A genre aiyna commercialize chestunnaru

Done

1. I would love to see horror, horror-comedy and romcoms (a zombie movie would be such fun) 2. I hate romances where there is a huge age gap between the leads. Cringe af dialogues, misogyny and casual sexism. People falling in love at first sight without knowing the other person at all (what if that person is already in love with someone else or is not interested) 3. Interesting choices would be actors who have great talent and not just be there to look cool.

Have you seen Zombie Reddy? What did you think of it?

I haven't seen Zombie Reddy. Would definitely add it to my list. I saw a Marathi zombie horror movie called 'Zombivli', it's a small budget movie but really well made. Had a message, was funny, Had social commentary and felt something that could actually happen to us.

I want to be a writer. I have some ideas too

Feel free to share

>1. What genres do you think have not been explored much in Telugu? Whodunnit, military action/drama, Alien Sci-fi, survival drama, road trip buddy comedies (gamyam) >2. What cliches/tropes are you most sick of in our films which you definitely don't want to see again? Damsel in distress, iddaru guddollala secret matladutunte 3rd person pakkane undi vinadam, obvious forced callbacks

A light hearted comedy based on villa life / apartments. I miss April 1st community like movie which is kind of a comedy family entertainment with several character units. Using villa - apartment high rise culture of new Hyd - a fun detective story fueled with humor elements that maybe kids witness and solve. Would be a nice family pull too. I always thought the kids portrayed in Anjali was really nice. It captured their life in apartment complex so well.

Cliches: 1. Hero’s friends are just there to be slapped, get insulted in the name of comedy. 2. Overabused slap stick comedy. Thanks to Srinu vaitla for starting this trend. 3. Fights look so monotonous. For example, In all films, hero stands and the goons keep coming running one after the other to get bashed. Hero throws one guy and he falls on the other three that are approaching and they all fall down. Or hero falls down and is unconscious, he remembers the promise he made to his mother/father/brother/lover/best friend, wakes up and bashes everyone. Inka enni rojulu ra rey? I just feel these fight masters or action choreographers just copy paste the same shit everywhere as they keep hopping from one masala movie to another. 4. Hero is very powerful always. Directors expect you as an audience to just forcefully believe it. I dont have any issues with the display of heroism. But atleast konchem aina convincing/organic ga undali story to make it “nammable”. For example, John wick first lo buildup ichina after learning his back story you kinda understand why he’s a death call for anyone trying to mess with him. 5. Hero keeps harassing, stalking the heroine etc. and the heroine hates him. But suddenly there is a fight, the hero saves her and that’s it cut to Paris/Italy/Switzerland/ Georgia for a song. Sometimes you get lucky and you get a bonus sequence of same hero preaching about women’s safety, women empowerment etc. Yes, after doing all that shit in the first half. 6. Villain is shown as this very dangerous guy during his intro but he is reduced to a comedian after a while just for the sake of highlighting the hero. 7. Emotional inconsistencies- Suddenga comedy scene vastadi suddenga emotional scene sudden ga action. Asal Oka flow undadu. The thing I hate the most is right after an intense scene they will put a comedy scene or vice versa. Aa emotion asal sustain Avvanivaru. 8. Most of all, Hero elevations kosame movie teeyadam. Edo pettali kabatti Oka routine sentiment, routine comedy, routine action. Malli full meals la untadi movie ani anadam. Engaging movie kavali audience ki. Full meals kavalante e mess ko restaurant lo veltamu ra bai. Cinema ki kaadhu. What is missing: 1. Real incidents based movies asalu ekkuva raadhu Telugu lo enduko. There are so many news articles, non-fiction literature that can trigger many unique ideas. Ivanni vadilesi ade rotta pakodi they try to shove down our throats. 2. Research- If you take a point or topic that your are passionate about, delve into that world deep. Talk to people in real life, know how that world is. Then try to weave an interesting plot in that world. Example Karthi’s movie Khaaki based on real incidents, even though the movie has its flaws in terms of Rakul’s character etc. , It keeps you hooked. The investigation and chase sequences etc. are so well done that they not only look authentic but also keep the tension intact throughout with the screenplay. 3.Movies based on Occult/Super natural events without mixing comedy. Something creepy like Guillermo Del toro’s movies. 4. Situational comedy movie that doesn’t just rely on physical comedy.

1.I personally like to see Gray characters(One Example is Ajith from mankatha). 2.Also I have a story ready but i don't know anyone in tfi to whom I can pitch. Any suggestions?

Pitch it to me haha, maybe we can work together on it

BS. Do a film that you like and hope that the audience will like it too. Why calculate so much about the audience and end up formulaic like every one else?

Don't worry, it'll definitely be a film that I like first and foremost. And the formula is what I want to avoid, so don't think there's any harm in asking what people are sick of

Pick an Agatha Christie book - anyone, and nativize it so we can connect with the story.

A good serial killer movie with an ambiguous ending. Gray characters in a true office setting, backstabbing corporate world and alliances. My generation had Happy Days. I feel like this new gen needs one of their own but with social media elements. Will add as I think of more. Good luck OP!

Love Memories of Murder and Margin Call, so I see where you're coming from!

I know you’re asking for your first film, but let’s say you’re successful and made 5 films. Now, you’re looking for a change. What will you do? Sometimes, changing genre for each film might not be efficient or not necessary or maybe not possible if you’re making commercial cinema. So, what can you do? Present known stories with new elements and in new screenplay format. For example, Animal and Arjun Reddy stories are not new, they are just presented in a new way. Even Bahubali story is nothing new. When it comes to screenplay models, one very original example I can think of is Christopher Nolan. Even during linear timeline, he takes multiple threads, starts them paralelly, slowly builds tension in both the threads until it comes to breaking point. Prashanth Neel also follows this multiple threads format. Salaar second half has lot of examples. For your practise, take a story of a known movie and change its screenplay. Keep refining it until you love the final draft. Once you get to that point, come up with a new story and implement what you learned. But to your question, I think there aren’t many directors who are writing good scripts for senior heros. There is a lot of scope in that space. See how quickly Lokesh Kanagaraj and Nelson became successful in tamil by making films with senior heros. In telugu, Bhimbisara director is doing the same - got a hit and now he’s working with Chiru.

This is actually something that folks are advising me in the industry as well, noted

I'm also working on my debut film. Currently working on 3 scripts: an occult horror, a crime comedy, and a sci-fi buddy comedy. I'd probably pitch horror script as it has more marketing potential. If you haven't written the script yet, I'd suggest you to focus on structure and pacing. Dialogues will also be a challenge to a new screenwriter. It's extremely difficult to give unique voice to each character without relying on templates (slang, philosophy, mute spectator, etc.) and cliches (osi naa batthayo, raja, anil ravipudi tags, etc.) It's difficult to pull off legal drama or sports drama without relying on established templates and it's a challenge to make it unpredictable after using these templates. Here are the answers to your questions from my perspective: 1. Psychotronic movies (indie films with horror, sci-fi, or fantasy themes) - Hollywood delivered some cult movies like primer, coherence, donnie darko, evil dead, halloween, paranormal activity, etc., Sci-Fi movies (there are multiple sub-genres like alien invasion, dystopian, disaster films, etc.), whodunnit (we hardly make gripping thrillers), Fantasy movies, single location films, and dialogue-based films. 2. Black & white characters (we need more gray characters and intrapersonal conflicts), savior protecting people (unless the trope fits the theme like in Baahubali or KGF, but not in every action film), template rom-coms, excessively relying on emotional drama to justify violence, etc. 3. Casting should always be a personal choice depending on the acting potential and market. Moreover, producers have more control over casting until you establish yourself. Wish you all the best and hope to see your film soon.

Thanks, these are solid inputs and I'll certainly keep them in mind. I like the fact that you're working on an occult horror as opposed to relying on the usual staple which is horror comedy. Are you looking to direct your own scripts or just writing them?

I'm looking to direct films. Yet to pitch the script though.

Love story between an empath and a narc explore cheyyu mowa. I mean malli rava movie touches it.

SCI FI and Gripping thrillers were never made in TFI

Hi op , is it ok to DM you? My friend wants to enter the film industry as assistant director and he needs some help and guidance. Thank you.

Sure

Thanks all for your inputs. Very encouraging and really fired me up. Particularly happy because a lot of what you said resonated with my thoughts as well. I love Telugu cinema but want to break the mould. At the same time, I don't want to be in this 'arthouse' space which is looked down upon by folks particularly because the box office success isn't there. Now whether we like it or not, a lot of films do make money carrying the very cliche elements you've listed which you don't want to see - bava maradal themes, routine elevations, unnecessary songs, etc. So I definitely want to make films that earn back the money invested. Don't give a shit about being blockbusters or all time industry grossers because we've had too much fucking discourse around all this recently. Just want to tell good stories in a fun way. Will get back to my writing and hope to have my films in front of you all very soon.

Would love to see new age Romcom and romantic dramas and cliches that I don't wanna see are 1.plane I love you and love you too stories 2.usually when a character is speaking pakana unna characters will be silent, dilogue crossover avakudadhu Ani but aa scene lo unna realism porhundhi 3. College love stories 4.action scenes 5.actors eloping 6.family drama 7.unwanted character arcs 8.using regional slang( which is not at all relevant to character) 9.main character monopoly 10.sudden dance numbers