Dil Raju denounces industry practice of buying YouTube views for trailers, songs: ‘Don't want to fake numbers anymore'
Producer Dil Raju attended the trailer launch of his upcoming film Thammudu, starring Nithiin. He opened up about the industry practice of buying YouTube views for trailers and songs, announcing that he's denouncing it. Here's what he said. (Also Read: Allu Aravind backs Pawan Kalyan and questions theatre bandh during HHVM release; Dil Raju claims 'miscommunication')
Raju stated at the event that he has directed his PR team not to buy any views on YouTube for Thammudu's trailer or songs. He said, 'I've been meaning to talk about this for a while now, and I must address it today. Whatever views you see on YouTube for this film are original. I've told my PR team and everyone working for me that the numbers must reflect real views. I do not want to fake numbers anymore.'
He stated that he's adapting this practice so he knows beforehand, as a producer, how much the audience is really interested in his films. 'I want to know how many views my songs or trailers bring in so I'm prepared for how much reach it'll have upon release. When we're buying views, there's a large number for us to show, but we don't really know if it's reaching the intended audience. Even if it's difficult, I've decided to take the first step in doing this,' explained Raju.
When everyone looked shocked at the tangent his speech took, Raju claimed that he wasn't stating anything 'controversial', reasoning that it's the only way producers can 'correct' themselves. 'I am not saying anything controversial. I believe we (producers) will know how to correct ourselves only when we see genuine numbers. If the film is worth it, people will watch it anyway. Look at how Sankranthiki Vasthunam became an all-time record. Court also became a super hit. 2025 has proved that all we need is good content.'
In January this year, Raju was called out by the press for releasing a poster for the Ram Charan-starrer Game Changer, claiming it earned over ₹186 crore worldwide on its opening day, when in reality it earned that amount in its lifetime. He defensively said, 'I've already said we (producers) have weaknesses we can't discuss. I admit that, no. Don't you know how much the film has already collected? So you calculate and put out posters for films now.'
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