SS Rajamouli
The scale maker
Because he can convert unconventionality into box office hits with magnum mixes.
The female lead in RRR, his production next after the runaway success of the Baahubali series, will be British actor Olivia Morris.
Playing the bad guys are Thor actor Ray Stevenson and Alison Doody who worked in A View to a Kill, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
Alia Bhatt and Ajay Devgn are in prominent roles. For the first time, two leading Telugu actors Jr NTR and Ram Charan will be seen together.
The daring Rajamouli who directed Eega (Makkhi in Hindi) became a fan-favourite after casting a housefly as the protagonist; he will be working on a remake once RRR is wrapped up.
Baahubali: The Beginning (2015) followed by Baahubali: The Conclusion (2017) brought back to life a fading genre of Indian cinema—masala. He has emerged as the king of myths, fantasies and period films.
Baahubali proved his genius for epic scenes shot on a mammoth scale: RRR is a lavish freedom struggle period film in which one battle scene alone cost Rs 45 crore to make.
Crossover King
Vikramarkudu remade into Rowdy Rathore, Maryada Ramanna into Son of Sardar and Eega into Makkhi
Baahu haul
Baahubali and Baahubali 2 made Rs 2,000 crore worldwide
Heartbroken
When Game of Thrones final season ended this year
Vijay Devarakonda
The Southern star
Because he is a crossover actor who became a household name with just one film. Arjun Reddy is the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of the actor. Devarakonda was propelled into fame with the massive success of the film.
He struck a chord with the youth with his explosive performance as a violent, self-destructive surgeon.
Its Hindi remake Kabir Singh garnered similar acclaim propelling him into stardom in Bollywood as well.
The movie made him a household name in India and did well at the box office (`276 crore). It was also Spotify’s most-streamed album of 2019. However, the film and its hero are stuck in a toxic gender controversy.
This hasn’t stopped the 2019 release Dear Comrade from becoming a box-office hit. Devarakonda’s new production house King of the Hill has set the cameras rolling on its maiden venture Meeku Maathrame Cheptha.
His acting prowess and uber-cool style quotient make him one of the most bankable stars in the film world, who also owns the clothing line Rowdy.
Considering that he is one of the very few Telugu stars with no godfathers, his success is even more inspiring.
Following lead
Hardcore fan of Telugu superstar Mahesh Babu. Stood in queues to buy tickets to his films.
Nature's call
Criticised uranium mining in Nallamal forest area in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana