page_title: Telugu cinema
section_title: Rise of Tollywood
hierarchical_section_title: Telugu cinema / Rise of Tollywood
caption_attribution_description: English: Director S. S. Rajamouli at the theatrical trailer launch of the film Baahubali
context_page_description: Telugu cinema, also known as Tollywood, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Telugu language, widely spoken in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Based in Hyderabad, Telangana, the industry produced 294 feature films in 2017 and represented over 17% of Indian box office revenue in 2013. Since 1909, filmmaker Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu was involved in producing short films and travelling to different regions in Asia to promote film work. In 1921, he produced the silent film, Bhishma Pratigna. He is cited as the father of Telugu cinema.
  The first talking motion picture was Telugu-Tamil bilingual Kalidas directed by Telugu Director H M Reddy. The film was released on 31 October 1931, less than seven months after India's first talking motion picture Alam Ara. H M Reddy also directed first full length Telugu-language film Bhakta Prahlada which released on 6 February 1932.
  Pathala Bhairavi, Malliswari, Devadasu, Mayabazar, Nartanasala, Maro Charitra, Maa Bhoomi, Sankarabharanam, Sagara Sangamam, and Siva have been showcased among CNN-IBN's 100 Greatest Indian Films of All Time.
  Parallel films such as B.
context_section_description: Moola Narayana Swamy and B. N. Reddy founded Vijaya Vauhini Studios in 1948 in the city of Madras (now Chennai). Indian film doyen L. V. Prasad, who started his film career with Bhakta Prahlada, founded Prasad Studios in 1956 based in Madras. However, through the efforts of D. V. S. Raju, the Telugu film industry completely shifted its base from Chennai to Hyderabad in the early 1990s, during N. T. Rama Rao's political reign.
  Veteran actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao relocated to Hyderabad and has developed Annapurna Studios. The Telugu film industry is one of the three largest film producers in India. About 245 Telugu films were produced in 2006, the highest in India for that year. Film studios in Hyderabad, developed by D. Ramanaidu and Ramoji Rao, are involved in prolific film production and employment. There is a fair amount of dispersion among the Indian film industries. Many successful Telugu films have been largely remade by the Bengali cinema and Hindi film industries.
  The digital cinema network company UFO Moviez marketed by Southern Digital Screenz (SDS) has digitized several cinemas in the region. The Film and Television Institute of Telangana, Film and Television Institute of Andhra Pradesh, Ramanaidu Film School and Annapurna International School of Film and Media are some of the largest film schools in India. The Telugu states consist of approximately 2800 theaters, the largest number of cinema halls of any state in India.
  The industry holds the Guinness World Record for the largest film production facility in the world, Ramoji Film City. The Prasads IMAX located in Hyderabad is one of the largest 3D IMAX screens, and the most attended cinema screen in the world. As per the CBFC report of 2014, the industry is placed first in India, in terms of films produced yearly. The industry holds a memorandum of understanding with the Motion Picture Association of America to combat video piracy. In the years 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2014 the industry has produced the largest number of films in India, exceeding the number of films produced in Bollywood.
  Known for being commercially consistent, Telugu cinema had its influence over commercial cinema in India. Telugu film production accounts for one percent of the gross domestic product of the region. The 1992 film Gharana Mogudu, directed by K. Raghavendra Rao, is the first Telugu film to gross over ₹ 10 crore at the box office.
caption: S. S. Rajamouli
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