HYDERABAD: The Telugu film industry is sitting on a ticking time bomb - a slew of films slated for release this month and the first half of the next are worth a staggering Rs. 100 crores. Already in the dumps with several big films crashing at the box office suffering from creative bankruptcy, buyers are on the edge while the industry bigwigs keep their stables intact selling the films outright.

Beginning December 14, several films will hit the marquee till Sankranthi - Raviteja's `Khatarnak',

NTR Junior's litmus test `Rakhi', Pawan Kalyan's elusive search for a hit in several years `Annavaram', Allu Arjun's `Desamudhuru' in the direction of Hong Kong films-inspired Puri Jagannadh, Prabhas' `Yogi' and last but not the least, Balakrishna's `Maharadhi', whose release has been curiously postponed a couple of times now.

The films were bought for staggering prices, all put together are about Rs. 90 crores to Rs. 100 crores. But, given the formula-driven and cliche-ridden productions, experts point out that half of the films might bomb miserably unless they have something substantial to offer to the discerning viewers. If huge investments are a minus propelled by astronomical prices of big stars and budgets, lack of substance is an albatross that has brought most of the Telugu films released this year, crashing down. Industry watchers say distributors took a beating with Chiranjeevi's `Stalin', Nagarjuna's `Boss' and Mahesh Babu's `Sainikudu', all of which failed to reach the expectations of viewers, despite good openings. On the contrary, it is the small budget films that are making waves bringing happiness to distributors and viewers. Sunil's `Andala Ramudu' is said to have collected four times the investment. Jagapathi Babu's `Samanyudu', which started on a low key, has picked up considerably given its good content, proving yet again that hype, hoopla and fancy stars can only kill a film.

Against this backdrop, a lot hinges on these yet-to-be-released films. Their success is crucial for the industry to make a turnaround after one of its most disastrous years and more importantly for filmmakers to win back the buyers' confidence.

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