Ravi Babu Takes Aim at Endless Pan-India Film Schedules: 'Any Fool Can Make Films'

The post-Baahubali era has fundamentally altered how Telugu cinema operates, with pan-India aspirations driving up budgets, production timelines, and working days across the industry. But veteran filmmaker Ravi Babu isn't impressed with this new normal: and he's not holding back his criticism.

Speaking on a recent podcast while promoting his upcoming action thriller Razor, set for May 8 release, Ravi Babu delivered a scathing assessment of current filmmaking practices. His central argument cuts straight to the bone: unlimited time and resources don't make better films, they make lazy filmmaking.

"What is filmmaking actually?" Ravi Babu asked rhetorically. "It's about telling a story within the proposed budget and the intended time period. When you have unlimited time, any fool can make a movie. No Hollywood studio would accept this kind of model. I don't understand why we're doing it here."

The comments have struck a nerve across social media, with industry insiders debating exactly which directors and projects he's targeting. It's not hard to connect the dots: while filmmakers like Ram Gopal Varma and Puri Jagannadh once wrapped major star vehicles in 24 working days, today's directors routinely take two to three years per film.

Ravi Babu's criticism extends beyond directors to producers and heroes who enable this culture. His timing is particularly pointed, coming as several high-profile pan-India projects face extended delays and budget overruns. The irony isn't lost that many of these marathon productions, despite their massive success at the box office, represent a fundamental shift away from the efficient filmmaking that once defined Telugu cinema.

What makes Ravi Babu's critique especially sharp is his own track record. He's built his reputation on distinctive storytelling within limited budgets and tight schedules: exactly the approach he argues the industry has abandoned. His upcoming Razor, made with controlled resources and timeline, serves as a pointed counter-example to the current trend.

The debate Ravi Babu has sparked goes beyond mere scheduling complaints. It's really about creative discipline versus indulgence, and whether bigger necessarily means better. As the industry grapples with post-pandemic realities and changing audience expectations, his question lingers: have we confused ambition with efficiency, or spectacle with substance?