As the year winds down and we look back on 2024, we Sandy and Chaitu, the hosts of The Tollywood Project wanted to share an honest update with all of you our cherished listeners. It has been a year of immense joy, growth and challenges and while our podcast episodes may have been sparse this year, our commitment to storytelling and connecting with you remains unwavering.
Why we hit Pause more often this year
When we launched The Tollywood Project our dream was to create a space where Telugu enthusiasts could come together to explore, reminisce, debate, and celebrate a wide range of topics. From dissecting the magic of Telugu cinema to diving into fascinating bits of history or even random yet thought-provoking discussions, every episode has been a labor of love for us. However, 2024 brought about significant life changes for both of us that required our attention and energy in ways we hadn’t fully anticipated.
Work Commitments
Both of us found ourselves deeply engrossed in our professional lives this year. As much as we love podcasting it’s not our full-time gig. Our respective careers demanded more focus with challenging projects and tighter deadlines. Finding time to research, record and edit episodes became increasingly difficult amidst our packed schedules. As much as we missed our conversations and connecting with all of you we had to prioritize the demands of our day jobs to ensure stability and growth in our personal and professional lives.
Welcoming New Beginnings
The most joyous and transformative part of this year though, was the arrival of new members to our families. Both Chaitu and Sandy became proud fathers to beautiful newborns and these little bundles of joy brought immeasurable happiness into our lives. While the late-night feeds, diaper changes and lullabies were exhausting they were also moments filled with love and gratitude.
Parenthood as many of you know is a full-time commitment especially during the first year. Balancing the responsibilities of being new parents alongside our work left us with little time to dedicate to the podcast. We’re sure many of you can relate to the whirlwind of emotions and adjustments that come with welcoming a new baby into your life.
Staying connected despite the pause
Even though our episodes have been few and far between, we’ve been incredibly grateful for the continued support and messages from our listeners. Every DM asking about the next episode, every comment reminiscing about past discussions and every suggestion for future topics has reminded us why we started this podcast in the first place.
To those who patiently waited for new episodes thank you for understanding our silence and celebrating our milestones from afar. Your encouragement has meant the world to us.
Lessons learnt this year
2024 taught us a lot about balance, priorities and the power of community. Here are some key takeaways we’d love to share:
- It’s Okay to Pause Life sometimes throws curveballs and it’s okay to take a step back and reassess. We’ve learned that slowing down doesn’t mean stopping; it’s about gathering the strength to move forward with more intention.
- Cherish the Small Wins Whether it was a short brainstorming session for the podcast or responding to a listener’s message celebrating small wins kept us motivated and connected to our passion.
- Community Matters The Tollywood Project isn’t just about us; it’s about you—our listeners. Your unwavering support has been a reminder that what we’re building here is bigger than the sum of its parts.
Looking Ahead to 2025
So what does the future hold for The Tollywood Project?
First let us reassure you that we’re not going anywhere! Our passion for Telugu cinema and the stories that shape our culture is as strong as ever. While we may not have been able to produce as many episodes this year as we wanted, we’re excited to hit the ground running in 2025 with fresh ideas and renewed energy.
Here are a few things you can look forward to:
- More Consistent Episodes: Now that we’re settling into our new routines we plan to carve out dedicated time for the podcast.
- Exciting Topics: The most easiest topics to record are of movie related and the most challenging ones are about history, which require some research and getting the facts right. This new year, we will restart our topics on history and we will make sure you love them just like how adore the episodes on World Wars, Dokka Seethamma, Singapore and many more.
- Listener Engagement: From live Q&A sessions to interactive polls we’re committed to making you a bigger part of our journey. After all The Tollywood Project is a community effort.
A Heartfelt Thank You
As we close the book on 2024 we want to take a moment to thank you all for sticking with us through this rollercoaster of a year. To those who’ve listened, shared and supported us you are the heartbeat of The Tollywood Project. Your love for cinema and this community keeps us inspired.
Here’s to a new year filled with meaningful conversations, unforgettable films and the shared joy of storytelling. We can’t wait to embark on this next chapter with you.
Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season and a fantastic start to 2025. Let’s make it a blockbuster year!
With love and gratitude
Chaitu & Sandy
The Tollywood Project 