Naga Vamsi Talks Film Industry Challenges 🎬

In this interview with idlebrain.com's Jeevi, Telugu film producer Naga Vamsi discusses various aspects of the film industry, including challenges, reflections on past performances, and upcoming projects.

Industry Challenges and Strategies

• Ticket Pricing: Naga Vamsi notes a trend of setting lower ticket prices (around ₹99) for smaller films, while allowing hikes for big-budget event films to help producers justify costs. Multiplex rates can go up to ₹295 (1:12-1:26).

• OTT Evolution: He observes that the system for OTT releases is evolving and will likely take a more defined shape over the next six months to a year as the market stabilizes (3:18-3:25).

• Social Media Influence: Vamsi expresses concern over "media circuses" and the manipulation of BookMyShow (BMS) data, which can sometimes influence a film's initial reception (5:21-5:37).

Film Analysis and Reflections

• Reviewing Past Performances: Reflecting on 2025, he admits that some films, such as Kingdom, did not perform as expected at the box office despite high initial hopes. He acknowledges miscasting in some instances but maintains that the core strength of their production house—entertainment and emotions—remains solid (14:52-15:42).

• Sankranti Competition: Discussing the competitive Sankranti season, he mentions that while having many similar profile films can divide audience attention, producers have the right to release their films, and the risk is inherent to the business (8:04-8:40).

Upcoming Projects

• Focus for 2026: Vamsi states that their focus for the next year will return to their "core strength" - entertainment and love stories with strong emotions (0:29-0:47).

• Rural Comedy: He is highly confident in an upcoming rural comedy, guaranteeing that audiences will have a smile on their face for at least 1 hour and 15 minutes of its 2 hour and 20 minute runtime (9:34-9:52, 26:41-26:48).

• Sidhu Jonnalagadda: Vamsi notes that actor Sidhu Jonnalagadda is very picky about script selection, particularly in terms of entertainment and character orientation (10:17-10:28).

• Other Ventures: He mentions working with new directors, like Sailesh - Roshan for a new project (21:36-22:04). Details about some upcoming projects, including "AK-47," are currently being kept quiet until further development (18:54-19:10, 30:47-30:48).

Naga Vamsi concludes with a resolve to stick to their strengths and provide consistent entertainment to avoid disappointing the audience in the future (27:50-28:14).