No. of Telugu films released in 2011: 118
No. of dubbed movies released in 2011: 120
Biggest hit: Dookudu
Blockbusters: Mr. Perfect , Kandireega
Hits: Alaa Modalaindi , Mirapakaay , 100% Love , Rangam , Naa Peru Siva, Kanchana
Average: Gaganam , Jai Bolo Telagana , Aha Naa Pellanta! , Seema Tapakaay, Pilla Jamindar, Nuvvilaa
Critics' Choice: Sreerama Rajyam & Rajanna
2011 in Review
Telugu Cinema of 2011 had more dubbed films than straight films! In fact, dubbed films have been sustaining regular theaters more than straight films could. As straight Telugu films fall into the rut of churning out numerous versions of the age-old revenge formula with high production costs, Dubbed films that offered variety took over the box-office. Any hero who comes from a lineage of stars has been charging a remuneration of Rs 3-4 Crores per film regardless of one's acting capabilities, only to deliver damp squibs at the box-office!
Small-time heroes do not get to work with big directors, as all popular directors choose to work for a maximum of one or two films a year ...if at all working! Thus, all popular directors have their plates full for the next 2-3 years without any assurance of which project might ever go to sets! Adding salt to wounds is the piracy issue that has been threatening the film industry! Above all these, the sociopolitical situation in the state has also taken a toll on films this year.
Dubbed movies: More hungama, little success!
While the number of dubbed films is considerably high, only very few films really made a mark at the box-office. While K.V. Anand's directorial venture Rangam enjoyed a 100-day run, Karthi's Naa Peru Sivabecame a hit, Surya's 7th Sense with Murugadoss was a flop; Santhosh Shivan's Urumi with Genelia, Murugadoss's production Journey with Sharwanand, Allari Naresh-starrer Sangharshana, and Prema Khaidi were appreciated and the rest of the dubbed films failed to make an impact. Among the dubbed film heroes, Kaarthi and Jeeva made inroads into B and C centers too with their hit films while Surya and Genelia could garner openings due to their established following. It's notable that two of the dubbed films were made with Telugu heroes - it's good to see our heroes enter other languages.
Telugu heroes testing new waters
While Allu Arjun has been enjoying a good market in Malayalam films, other young Telugu heroes such as Allari Naresh, Sharwanand, Navadeep, and Nani have continued to become a part of the Tamil film industry also. Mahesh Babu's Businessman would mark his debut into Tamil and Malayalam in January 2012, while Ram Charan plans to debut into Bollywood next year; RaNa who acted in Hindi already has more plans in Bollywood and even Kollywood (Tamil film industry) next year.
Cinema and Crime!
Film personalities have been in news for wrong reasons this year, with actors Bharat and Raghu (Raviteja's brothers) being arrested for drugs and their father arrested for gambling. Budding heroes Navdeep and Nikhil were caught for driving under influence (after alcohol consumption). Producers Singanamala Ramesh and C. Kalyan were accused of being involved in land mafia and more.
Celebs who are no more
There have been many deaths in the film industry this year. The list of people who left us this year includes the popular writer/film-writer Sree Mullapudi Venkataramana, veteran character artiste and writer Mikkilineni Radhakrishnamurthy, director/producer E.V.V. Satyanarayana, yesteryear heroine and character artiste Sujatha, an actor with a distinct voice and dialogue delivery Nutan Prasad, popular villain Ankusham Ramireddy, Gamyam fame writer Gandham Nagaraju, Gamyam music director Anil, dance master Salim who choreographed three chief ministers (NTR, MGR, and Jayalalithaa), lyricists Jaladi and Kaluva Krishna Sai, producer Dasari Padma who's the wife of Dasari Narayana Rao, director V.R. Prathap of Nuvvu Vastaavani..., lyricist/producer M.S. Reddy, and the veteran writer Tripuraneni Maharadhi who is known for his dialogues in films like Kanchu Kota and Alluri Seetharama Raju. Chitra's daughter Nandana, director Teja's younger son Aaroh, Akkineni Nageswara Rao's wife Smt.Annapurnaand Ilayaraja's wife Jeeva also passed away in 2011.
Moving through the months
January has 11 straight films and 6 dubbed films, with five movies released during the Sankranthi festive season: Parama Veera Chakra, Mirapakaay, Anaganagaa Oka Dheerudu, Spandana, and Golconda High School. There was not much hope on Dasari's Parama Veera Chakra with Balakrishna and it was a total washout like many Balakrishna-starrer before Simha and like Dasari's Young India. Raviteja-Harish Shankar's Mirapakaay worked as there was no competitor in its genre, though it was not a great film! The film thus became a clear Sankranthi winner at the box-office.
Anaganagaa Oka Dheerudu was made by K. Surya Prakash, the son of veteran director K. Raghavendra Rao, produced in a tieup with Disney, Inc. The film however failed because of miscasting and due to unimpressive scenes that reminded of several films of the past. However, Mohan Babu's daughter Lakshmi Prasanna was appreciated for her performance in the movie. A small film Alaa Modalaindi was released after a week of Sankranthi with not much publicity and became a super hit with quite a positive talk. The film was made with under 3.5 crore rupees and collected 18-20 crore rupees at the box-office. Gopichand's Wanted was not wanted by audience and it failed at the BO.Super hit: Alaa Modalaindi (Based on the cost of production and revenue)
Hit: Mirapakaay
Disappointment: Anaganagaa Oka Dheerudu
February had equal number of straight and dubbed films: 9 each. N. Shankar's Jai Bolo Telanganabecame an average fare. Gaganam, a different film for Nagarjuna, ended up as a break-even as it was made as a bilingual (Telugu & Tamil). Manchu Vishnu's Vastaadu Naa Raaju was a disaster, and so was the much-publicized Katha, Screenplay, Darsakatvam Appalraju. Praveen Sattaru's LBW generated some buzz but ended up as a flop. Saikumar's son Adi's debut film Prema Kaavaali registered an above average result at the BO. Other washouts in this month include Varun Sandesh's Kudirithe Cup-pu Coffee, Rajendra Prasad's Bhale Mogudu-Bhale Pellaam, and Gautam Menon's Erra Gulabeelu.
Average: Gaganam, Jai Bolo Telangana
Disaster: Appalraju
March saw the theatrical release of 11 straight films and 13 dubbed movies. While only one film, Aha Naa Pellanta! was above average, all the remaining straight films were total washouts. Ramgopal Verma's 5-days-in-shoot film, Dongala Muthaa, was a complete washout too. P. Sunil Kumar Reddy'sGangaputhrulu won three Nandi Awards (Best Feature Film - Silver Nandi, Best Director, and Best Dialogues, both to P. Sunil Kumar Reddy) but was not able to win the hearts of the audience. Rest of the washouts include V.N. Aditya's Sumanth-Priyamani starrer Raaj, Jagapathi Babu's Chattam, and Charmme's Mangala. Lyricist Kulasekhar's directorial venture Premalekha Vraasaa...!, which was laying in cans for a long time to see the light of the day, had no takers either! Kaaraalu-Miriyaalu, Ali'sThimmaraju, Posani's films Nisshabda Viplavam based on the Telangana movement and Nitya Pelli Koduku based on a recent news sensation didn't even recover publicity cost.
Average: Aha Naa Pellanta!Disasters: All the other films!
April also has 11 straight films, along with 7 dubbed films, releasing into the theaters. NTR's much hyped film Shakti made with "unlimited budget" was a disaster at the BO due to a bad story line and worse treatment. Then came Jayanth and Pawan Kalyan's Teenmaar, which was a remake of the super hit Hindi film Love Aaj Kal. The film was also a flop at the BO. Santosham fame Dasarath made his comeback with the film Mr. Perfect. The film made cash registers ring for enough time to make the film a blockbuster hit. Puri Jagannath's Nenu Naa Raakshasi with RaNa and Ileana left a sour taste. Others flops of the month are Tanish's Manchivaadu, Shivaji's Lokame Kottagaa..., Ninnu Cheraalani, Galli Kurraallu, B4 Marriage, A.S. Geetakrishna's Koffi Bar, and Poison.
Blockbuster: Mr. PerfectDisasters: Shakti, Teenmaar, Nenu Naa Raakshasi
May had only 5 straight films pitted along with 15 Dubbed films! Sukumar's 100% Love with Naga Chaitanya and Tamannah was a hit, while Allari Naresh Seematapaakaay and Raviteja's Veera were average at the BO. Vaikuntapaali and Posani-Srikanth combo film Dusshaasana was a disaster at the BO. The dubbed film Rangam also released this month, picked up slowly with positive talk and reviews, increased its prints later and ran for 100 days in some centers.
Hits: 100% Love, Rangam (dubbed)
Average: Seematapaakaay
Disappointment: Badrinath
July had 11 straight and 13 dubbed film releases. Neelakantha-Srikanth's Virodhi got critical acclaim but failed at the BO. The remaining ten straight films exited without making much noise at the box-office. Varun Sandesh's Brahmi Gaadi Katha, Jagapathi Babu's Key, Tanish's Kodipunju,Venu-Charmme'sMaayagaadu, Jaatara, Paravasamai, Amaayakudu, Saikumar-Kamalakar's Sanchalanam, Kireetam were all disasters. Among the dubbed films, Vikram's Naanna got good reviews but failed at the BO while Raghava Lawrence film Kanchana became a hit. Nani's Sega was a flop.
Hit: Kanchana
8 straight and 12 dubbed films released in August. Naga Chaitanya's Dhada was a disaster. Ram'sKandireega was a blockbuster. Rest of the films - Mugguru, Keratam, Money Money More Money,Daggaragaa.. Dooramgaa.., Maathrdevobhava, Mr. Rascal were washed out. Keratam introduced Prabhas's cousin Siddharth Rajkumar to the silver screen. Among the dubbed films, Kaarthi's Naa Peru Siva was a hit.
Blockbuster: Kandireega
Hit: Naa peru Siva
Disaster: Dhada
September has the highest number of releases, with 15 straight films and 11 dubbed films, among which only the all-time hit Dookudu made its outstanding mark in terms of collections and the fourteen other straight films were unable to make any impact at the BO. Rest of the films released in this month:Naakuu O Lover Undi, Aakaashame Haddu, Jhalak, Thaatha-Manavadu, Nenu Naanna Abaddham,Emaindi Naalo, Poru Telangana, Vara Prasad & Potti Prasad, Tholisaarigaa, Cricket, Girls, and Beer,Vankaay Fry, Madatha Kaajaa, Thrilling, Sankranthi Alludu. Poru Telangana, based on the ongoing agitation demanding statehood for the Telangana region, is set to release again next year, as the maker R. Narayanamurthy felt that the film did not reach the audience due to the all-public strike ( sakala janula samme) this month.
Blockbuster of the year: Dookudu
October had 7 straight and 8 dubbed films released in the theaters. The film Oosaravelli was released with much fanfare and had real big openings but the film was a flop once the initial hype died down. Nani's Pilla Zamindar got mixed reviews but sustained at the BO and became an average movie at B.O.Paapi, Jaganmaata Akkamahadevi, Jayammu Nishchyammuraa, Telugammaayi, Gandaragolam were flops. Surya-Muragadoss combination brought forth the dubbed film 7th Sense, which created a lot of hype before the release; while the film had good openings, it was unable to reach the expectations and had to be declared a flop.
Average: Pilla Zamindar
Flop: Oosaravelli, 7th Sense
Avg: Nuvvilaa
December had 14 straight Telugu releases. Naga Chaitanya registered another flop in the name ofBezawada, a film that stayed in news for all sorts of reasons due to its producer Ramgopal Verma. It's notable that Naga Chaitanya had three releases this year, though two of them were disastrous flops. Varun Sandesh continued his hat-trick of flops with Priyudu. Pawan Kalyan's Panjaa had good openings and Pawan Kalyan and Sesh Adivi who debuted with Karma last year got good reviews all over. However, the film with good production values suffered due to an old story and thus did not find its way to become a hit. The dubbed film The Dirty Picture (from Hindi) was a hit, and Sharwanand's Journey was appreciated and got good collections. Nagarjuna's Rajanna opened to very good reviews and critical acclaim. How it'd sustain this positive talk is yet to be known. Arthi Agarwal starrer Vanakanya-Wonder Veerudu had no takers, as was expected from the trailers. Vikram's Veedinthe is the last film to hit the screens in 2011 (Dec 30).
Flops: Bejawada, Panjaa
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