Telugu producers to also demand ban of fan reviews on YouTube after first show? Dil Raju clarifies

The Tamil Nadu Producers Council (TNPC) issued a strong statement on Wednesday, urging theatre owners to ban fan reviews on YouTube during first shows of films. This issue has often been discussed in the Telugu states, too, with exhibitors and producers claiming they affect the film’s collections. When asked about it, here’s what producer Dil Raju said. (Also Read: Post Kanguva debacle, Tamil Nadu producers demand ban of YouTube channels from theatres)

Dil Raju on YouTube reviews ban

When asked if the Telugu producers also plan to take similar measures, the producer, who was promoting his film Sankranthiki Vasthunnam with Venkatesh in Hyderabad, said, “Kerala has already implemented something similar and Tamil Nadu just took a decision. I’m sure it’ll prove to be a success there,” he said, adding, “I think it’ll automatically be implemented in our state (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana collectively) also.”

However, Raju said that a final decision has yet to be made and that it’s not his responsibility to independently decide. “But that’s not an independent decision to take; the chamber will meet and discuss it first. The exhibitors are already prepared for this move, so it’ll happen through the chamber soon,” he added, hinting that a similar move will be implemented in the Telugu states soon.

What’s the issue?

Reviewers, particularly those posting on YouTube, and filmmakers-actors in the Telugu film industry have been at loggerheads for a while now. The film industry claims that negative reviews given out during the first day, first show on YouTube tend to impact collections. They’ve also often claimed that these reviews are subjective, claiming that negativity is done just for the sake of fan wars.

Suriya’s Kanguva producer KE Gnanavel Raja also claimed at a press meet that the film’s negative reviews were mostly due to such fan wars. He said, “Initially trolling happened due to fan wars. But general audience is liking the film, no one’s trolling the content. They’re only trolling due to politics. We’ve seen this happen for Devara too,” he said, citing Koratala Siva’s recent Jr NTR, Saif Ali Khan and Janhvi Kapoor-starrer as an example.