Senior producer Anil Sunkara, known for films such as Dookudu, 1 Nenokkadine and Bhola Shankar, recently announced what he calls India’s first reality show on filmmaking, Show Time – Cinema Teeddam Randi. Speaking at the launch on Sunday, he used the occasion to share candid reflections on his production journey and the challenges of working in the industry.
“The actual producers you are seeing today are only 10 per cent producers. Ninety per cent of the producers can’t even tell that they made a movie,” Sunkara said, adding that many struggle once the film is made and reaches the difficult stages of distribution and release. “Other people guide producers wrongly, and they get lost in the way of getting a film released.”
He recalled the case of his production 1 Nenokkadine (2014), starring Mahesh Babu, when fear of industry pressure led to the cancellation of its trailer launch. “We even sent copies to all theatres, and fans were ready to watch. But a senior person called and told us, ‘If you release this trailer, the film will not get opening.’ We got scared. Because we didn’t release it, audiences didn’t know Mahesh Babu’s character had a psychological defect, and they were disappointed. Had we released it, we would have set the right expectation.”
Sunkara also spoke about the reception of Chiranjeevi’s Bhola Shankar (2023), a remake that failed at the box office. “I went to the IT office. A clerk told me, ‘Sir, why did you make the film? Why didn’t you make a film with a story?’ I said, I made a remake film, but it didn’t work, what could I have done?”
With Show Time – Cinema Teeddam Randi, produced under AK Entertainments in collaboration with ATV Originals, Sunkara intends to hand over all 24 departments of filmmaking, from acting to editing and design, to newcomers. The programme will document the entire process from script to screen.
Sunkara, who has invested in large-scale projects across Telugu cinema, including Agent and Bhola Shankar, said the venture aims to give aspiring professionals across India an entry into mainstream filmmaking.