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Running a website on movies is serious business. From up-to-the-minute box office reports to volatile fan clubs, there's a lot to take care of
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HIT YA MISS? Websites are often the topic of debate among fan clubs
Meera Jasmine got the shock of her life when she received an SMS that she has been chosen for a role in Venkatesh's film. She was shocked because she had only met the production house people and the information was supposed to be kept under wraps for some time. But one website leaked the news and other websites picked it up.
Browsing film-related news has become an addiction for Telugus not just in India but across the world. In US, the first thing a film freak does after waking up is to log onto his favourite site. The same happens at work too. Whenever they find time, Telugu film buffs are hooked on to the sites even checking out which centre or district in AP has registered the most collections for a Chiranjeevi film or a Prabhas' film. A software engineer based in Tampa, Florida, who runs a website in his spare time says, "Any item that carries the word Chiraneevi, Pawan Kalyan or NTR carries the most number of hits compared to other film news."
Film fanatics get emotional and abuse each other on chat forums when someone says something unpalatable about their favourite film star." Right now there are 26 websites that mix film-related information with general news while there are 12 websites that carry pure film news. Idlebrain.com. teluguone.com, telugustyle.com, andhracafe.com, totaltollywood.com, filmchamber.com and greatandhra and andhraherald, superhit are some of them.
Clicking away
When G.Venkata Ramana aka Jeevi, a B.Tech grad from BITS, Pilani, started idlebrain.com in 1999 to keep his pals informed on the Telugu film industry, there wasn't much competition. Today, the site has become a leading player in the segment, and it is Jeevi's full time job. The site logs over one lakh visitors a day and each visitor goes through seven to eight pages.
Known for up-to-the minute information, he's wisened up, "With popularity comes responsibility. Initially you get adventurous while providing info but later there is insistence on confirmation of news rather than speculation," he says. Scores of Telugus all over the world rely on web reviews to choose a film for weekend viewing. Most distributors have informed Jeevi that his reviews affect BO performances.
NRI surfers
Actor Shashank is a regular browser and logs into almost all the key websites every day when there is no shooting. He considers idlebrain his favourite site and says he goes through others too to check the latest happenings in film industry. He has a grouse about the film reviews and says, "Reviews on the website have no impact on top heroes but people abroad are very choosy and when they chose to spend 10 dollars to watch an actor other than the top four, it has a huge impact on the BO overseas."
Telugucinema.com is another site that is a big hit. This first Telugu film site established eight years ago by Prasad Potluri in Pittsburgh, has loyal visitors. Says Prasad, "We've always been unbiased in our writings and I have never interfered in the contributor's work. Despite this, we have Chiranjeevi and Balakrishna's fans at loggerheads with each other who blame us for partisan reviews. We have decided to bring back reviews slowly. Finally, we don't compete with any site and we have enough ads that cover our costs."
The impact of the websites is awesome as any news/gossip posted on the site is communicated to the person about whom it is written in a jiffy. Recently, telugucinema.com was warned not to carry reviews anymore because a reporter had posted the review after seeing the preview. This apparently affects the box office collections, according to distributors. While the inside story is not known, this will last as long as the film industry and the critics don't get overdramatic.
Y. SUNITA CHOWDHARY
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