2019 will certainly go down in the history books of Telugu cinema as one that has seen filmmakers, new-gen actors, stars and audience lending their support to the different cinema. The bygone year has not only witnessed pleasant hits but also brought some shocking setbacks along, like Prabhas’s Saaho. It also opened doors for the young brigade to unleash their talent and prove a point that content remains the king. So before you welcome 2020, Murali Krishna CH takes a recap of the year that was!
Small is big
While several big films like F2: Fun & Frustration, Maharshi, iSmart Shankar and Syeraa Narasimha Reddy had their share in the success, we have a slew of relatively smaller films with refreshing storylines that have been sputtered out to jingle at the box office by delivering high returns to its filmmakers. Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya, which marked the debut of Naveen Polishetty, is a cat-and mouse-chase with a few twists and turns that keep you on the edge-of-your-seat. It was a throwback to the older times when suspense thrillers were more about script and screenplay than about expensive locations and huge star cast.
The film brought huge acclaim for its director Swaroop RSJ, who has designed a Sherlock Holmes-style detective character with its core story rooted in Nellore. Director Vivek Athreya’s Brochevarevaru is a well-written anthology that plays around human emotions. The tone of the film is natural and the story is a beautiful tapestry of coincidences woven together seamlessly. The film offered a dream role to actors Sree Vishnu and Nivetha Thomas, who had an opportunity to present their comic timing effortlessly. The next is Mathu Vadalara which was released without much fanfare. Directed by Ritesh Rana, the youthful entertainer picked up steam through word-of-mouth and went on to prove a point that in spite of the audience liking for big films featuring star heroes, there is also a room for good films with fascinating content.
Remakes rule the roost
Actor Samantha Akkineni hits peak form with her career-defining performance in Oh Baby, a remake of the South Korean film Miss Granny. The film has become a runaway hit and Samantha, who has taken the brightest spot with Majili, was thrust into the lady superstar bandwagon. After Kshanam and Goodachari, Adivi Sesh continued his success streak with Evaru. Adapted from the Spanish film The Invisible Guest, the film has won laurels that the audience and critics cannot stop talking about it. Yet another remake, Rakshasudu that charts the story of a police officer, who attempts to track down a psycho killer, has not only garnered box office attention but also revived the fortunes of Bellamkonda Sai Sreenivas. Nikhil’s two-year wait has come to an end with Arjun Suravaram. A remake of Tamil suspense thriller Kanithan, the film has become one of the biggest hits in the actor’s career.
Big stars, bigger setbacks
In an industry that’s always plagued with a low success rate, several star-driven vehicles that came with huge pre-release buzz for more reasons than one failed miserably at the ticket window. From Balakrishna’s NTR: Mahanayakudu and Ruler to Ram Charan’s commercial entertainer Vinaya Vidheya Rama, Nagarjuna’s much-talked-about Manmadhudu 2 to Prabhas’s highly-anticipated actioner Saaho, these big-budget films did not manage to set the cash registers ringing at the box office.
Missing in action
Tollywood’s young brigade Jr NTR, Allu Arjun, Nithiin and Sudheer Babu had no release this year. Surprisingly, actor Ravi Teja, who is known for having a busy year with at least two releases, has been missing in action as well.
Donning a new avatar
Vijay Deverakonda, who had begun his career as a rank outsider, is a man of many vocations. After launching his own clothing line, the Arjun Reddy actor has tried his hand at film production with a youthful entertainer Meeku Mathrame Cheptha. Made on a shoe-string budget, the film did more than expected business. On the same lines, actor Sandeep Kishan too ventured into production with a horror-thriller Ninu Veedani Needanu Nene. This year is also special for director VV Vinayak, who is gearing up to make his first big impact as an actor with Seenayya.
Equally excited is RX 100 actor Kartikeya, who has enticed the audience as an antagonist in Nani’s Gang Leader. Varun Tej, who has made a name for himself by portraying boy-next-door roles, has sparkled as a maniac gangster in Gaddalakonda Ganesh. Actors Vishwak Sen and Srinivasa Reddy too lived up to their promise as debutant directors with Falaknuma Das and Bhagyanagaraveedhullo Gammathu.