Tollywood, telugu movies 2012, Tollywood 2012 top movies,
The year 2012 was a big one for Tollywood. Or to use the most filmi
phrase — kevu keka! If blockbusters like ‘Eega’ had the cash registers
ringing and the nation talking, the BO was appeased with a whole lot of
small budget films that managed to impress. Of the 126 Telugu films
released this year, around 15 films were declared hits. Actors like
Pawan Kalyan, Allu Arjun, Siddharth, Nithiin and Vishnu, who didn’t get
to taste success for a long time, managed to come back with a bang. It’s
no surprise then that the industry is in a celebratory mode.
WHATTE COMEBACK!
The year started with the Sankranthi blockbuster ‘Businessman’, which
was the second consecutive success for Mahesh Babu after a lean patch.
February saw three big comebacks. ‘Love Failure’ came as a big break for
Siddharth, who has not had a single hit since ‘Bommarillu’ in 2006. The
actor even turned producer with the movie. Meanwhile, Nithiin tasted
success with Ishq after eight years. Comedian Sunil delivered a super
hit, ‘Poola Rangadu’, proving that he can also compete with the stars.
A ‘MEGA’ YEAR
The Chiranjeevi clan were the topl entertainers of 2012. irst it was Ram
Charan, who delivered the blockbuster ‘Racha’ after a gap of two years.
Then the biggest hit of the year came from Pawan Kalyan. His film
‘Gabbar Singh’, a remake of the Salman Khan-starrer Dabangg, turned out
to be a box office sensation. Directed by Harish Shankar, the movie came
as a blessing for Pawan Kalyan, who was desperate for a blockbuster for
almost 10 years.
Pawan also created quite a buzz with ‘Cameraman Gangatho Rambabu’,
his second release that year. It was a good year for Bunny too Under the
direction of Trivikiram Srinivas, Allu Arjun managed to impress with
‘Julayi’. The film is counted among the top five films of the year and
is Allu’s hit after five long years.
RAJAMOULI MAKES A BUZZ
The year 2012 was an extra special one for director SS Rajamouli.
‘Eega’, which starred a fly as the hero, was declared a unanimous
blockbuster. For an industry that is afraid to experiment, the movie
became a trendsetter and was celebrated for everything from its unique
plot and cutting edge computer graphics to its innovative cinematic
technique. Rajamouli became the undisputed No. 1 director, proving that
you don’t need to have superstars to make a movie a super hit. In fact,
the movie created such a buzz that it was dubbed in Hindi as Makkhi.
ALL ABOUT THE LAUGHS
Funny movies rocked the box office this year. Allari Naresh once again
proved that his style of comedy still remains a hit with the audiences.
‘Sudigadu’, a spoof of all Tollywood movies, was a big success and
elevated llari Naresh’s status. Vishnu Manchu too enjoyed the limelight
when his comic film ‘Denikaina Ready’ gave him a hit after almost five
years.
SMALL IS BIG
Small budget films proved to be the biggest hits of the year. Young
director Maruthi who delivered a hit with ‘Ee Rojullo’,which starred
relatively new names, also released ‘Bus Stop’ in the same year. Though
both the films were low budget ones, they were a hit at the marque.
Another surprise hit was Oka Romantic Crime Katha by Sunil Kumar Reddy.
The film with a contemporary story struck a chord with the young
audiences. Director Ravi Babu’s thriller ‘Avunu’, which was based on a
real life incident, earned much critical acclaim too.
DIRECTOR’S CUT
While the stars enjoyed great success this year, it was the directors
who stole all the limelight. While Rajamouli was celebrated across the
country for ‘Eega’, ‘Gabbar Singh’ earned director Harish Shankar a
place in the list of Tollywood’s most wanted directors. Trivikiram
worked his magic once again with ‘Julayi’. Director Samapath Nandi , a
relatively unknown name earlier, shot to fame with ‘Racha’. Filmmaker
Vikram Kumar impressed with his work in ‘Ishq’. And with stars queueing
up to work with such names, these directors in demand have changed the
game in Tollywood this year.
CONTROVERSIES GALORE
Even as the industry was rejoicing over a successful year, Tollywood was
busy making news for all the wrong reasons as well. Director Puri
Jagannadh suffered setbacks all through the year. While some Hindu
groups filed a case against him for using foul language in one of his
songs in ‘Businessman’, his ‘Devudu Chesina Manushulu’ came under the
scanner for allegedly depicting the characters of Lord Vishnu and
Lakshmi in a comic way by Brahmanandam and Kovayi Sarala.
Later in the year, pro-Telangana activists disrupted the release of
his Pawan Kalyan-starrer, ‘Cameraman Gangatho Rambabu’ and even
vandalised Puri’s office, claiming that the movie was hurting Telangana
sentiments. The films’ collections were adversely affected by these
protests. What’s more, director Puri Jagannadh lodged a complaint to the
AP Producers Council against the producers of the movie, alleging that
they haven’t paid him his remuneration. Later the issue was resolved,
with both the parties comes to an agreement.
And who can forget the most long drawn controversy of the year — the
tussle between Vishnu Manchu’s ‘Denikaina Ready’ and the city’s
Brahmins, who claimed the movie mocked their community. The protests in
fact, took a violent turn and the state government was forced to
intervene and appoint a joint action committee to look into the issue.
Later, producer Mohan Babu approached the High Court for a stay order.
The case still remains unresolved and the filmmakers never got a chance
to celebrate the film’s success. The protest season didn’t end there.
While certain sects of the audience took offense to the vulgar
language in Bus Stop, the medical community protested over the poster of
‘Rebel’ that showed Prabhas smoking a cigarette. A small film called
‘Sorry Teacher’ also ran into trouble for allegedly depicting teachers
in poor light. The producers of Rebel too complained against director
Raghava Lawrence for overshooting the budget, delaying the release. They
blamed him for the movie’s dismal BO performance. The Producers Council
in fact, asked director Lawrence to pay `2.5 crore to the producers.
ALL FOR EXPERIMENTATION
While all other stars stuck to the formula, Nagarjuna was one actor who
dared to be different roles this year. As he shed his stylish image and
sported a wizened, bearded look for his role in the devotional film,
Shiridi Sai, he was quick to get back in shape for his period film,
Dhamarukam, which turned out to be one of the highest grossers of
Nagarjuna’s career.