Siddhu Jonnalagadda: “Tollywood Doesn’t Run on Agreements”

Siddhu Jonnalagadda has been working in Telugu films for over ten years. He became popular with DJ Tillu and then Tillu Square, which was his first 100-crore hit. But his recent film Jack failed at the box office. Now, he is preparing for his next film, Telusu Kada, a romantic drama directed by Neeraja Kona. The film will release this Diwali on October 17.

During a recent interview, Siddhu spoke about his work in films beyond acting. He said that in his early films, like Guntur Talkies, no one came to him with scripts. He had to learn writing and filmmaking to get good projects. “I wanted to just act, but I had to get involved in making the film. That’s how I learned,” he said.

Siddhu also explained the pressure of working without formal agreements. “For Telusu Kada, the budget is 50 crores, and there is no agreement between me and the producers. I have to make sure the film goes right. Even producers tell me to oversee the film,” he said. He added that his next film Badass has a budget of 60 crores, also without agreements.

Talking about risks, Siddhu shared that after Jack failed, he returned 4.75 crores to the producers. “I didn’t think twice. My only concern was clearing the loan I had taken,” he said.

Telusu Kada stars Siddhu Jonnalagadda, Raashii Khanna, Srinidhi Shetty, Harsha Chemudu and others. It is produced by TG Vishwa Prasad and Krithi Prasad under People Media Factory, written and directed by Neeraja Kona, with music by Thaman.