Focus more on marketing than celebrity appearances: Rakesh Varre advises Telugu filmmakers

Rakesh Varre, who rose to popularity with his work in films like Baahubali 2 and Evarikee Cheppoddu, will soon be seen headlining the political drama Jithender Reddy, hitting theatres on November 8. Ahead of the film’s release, the actor, who also produced the comedy-drama Pekamedalu, expressed his learnings from his recent working experiences.

Addressing the media, Rakesh Varre stated, “I came here without any filmy background, and it took me many years to settle in the industry. Yet, I thought let's encourage new filmmakers. Pekamedalu was a result of that decision, but it was a wrong decision. It’s my regret that I chose to encourage newcomers without establishing a brand or market of my own.”

The actor further expressed his sentiments about filmmakers’ increasing focus on getting celebrity appearances to gain traction for their films. He stated, “Celebrities come only as obligations or for friendships. It’s become a mindset that only if a celebrity attends an event for your film can you catch eyeballs. Everybody’s been pestering me, asking which celebrity is attending this event.  I believe celebrities can only support you, but they can't take the film to the audience.”

Rakesh further advised fellow filmmakers to focus more on marketing strategies than other tactics. “Please focus on content first, and then marketing. And then work with your distributors and exhibitors to take your film ahead,” he noted.