'2022', A year of mixed bag for Telugu cinema

Derailed by the unprecedented situation unleashed by the dreaded corona for over two years, the Telugu film industry, which never faced such a crisis earlier, was back on the track with the films 'Pushpa' of Allu Arjun and Nandamuri Balakrishna starrer 'Akhanda', released in December 2021, making cash registers ring louder at the box office.

At a time when the Tinseltown was worried over fall in the number of cine buffs visiting theatres in the wake of the pandemic and OTT onslaught, the runaway success of the two movies gave the crippled industry the much-needed fillip painting a rosy picture for the New Year. However, the year 2022 began on a dull note as no big-ticket flicks hit the screen for pongal which was unusual in the Telugu-speaking States.

Starring Nagarjuna and his son Naga Chaitanya, 'Bangarraju', a sequel to 'Soggade Chinninayana', released on January 14 along with other low-budget movies, got hit talk and collected over Rs. 60 crore worldwide.

Of the films released in February, 'DJ Tillu', a low budget movie of upcoming actor Siddhu, drew crowds to the theatres. The hero struck a funny chord with the audience with his typical dialogue delivery. Hit the screens the same month, 'Bheemla Nayak', in which Pawan Kalyan shared the screen with Daggubati Rana, got a positive talk. Don the role of a cop, Pawan Kalyan, however, failed to repeat the 'Gabbar Singh' magic.

The year delivered a huge hit which made waves in the cinema world. Directed by S.S. Rajamouli, 'RRR' roared like a lion at the box office creating a record of sorts. Starring Jr.NTR and Ramcharan, the mega venture grossed over Rs. 1,200 crore worldwide.

The lone movie acted by Mahesh Babu in the year -- 'Sarkaru Vari Pata' -- got above average talk, while 'Major' of Adivi Sesh was well received by all sections taking his career graph to newer heights.

Similarly, movies like 'Sita Ramam', 'Bimbisara', 'Karthikeya-2', ,'Masooda', 'Hit-2', and 'Yasoda' became decent hits proving again that flicks with some novelty are sure to receive bouquets from audience. Meanwhile, Chiranjeevi starrer 'Godfather', though opened to positive reviews, failed to collect on expected lines.

Disasters of the year

Released amidst much hype and high expectations, big-ticket movies 'Aacharya' of Chiranjeevi and 'Radhe Syam' of Prabhas bombed at the box office, dashing the hopes of the fans. Though Chiranjeevi shared the screen space with his son Ramcharan in 'Acharya', it failed to do any wonders.

Likewise, bad luck continues to haunt director Puri Jagannath and his movie 'Liger', starring Vijaya Devarakonda, as it proved to be a great disaster leaving distributors in heavy losses. The other movies that met the same fate included 'The Ghost' of Nagarjuna and 'Khiladi' of Raviteja.

Dubbing movies shine

Competing with straight movies, films that were dubbed from other languages like 'KGF-2', 'Vikrant Rona' and 'Kantara' did well at the box office making decent collections. The other movies that got hit talk include 'Vikram' of Kamal Hasan and 'Sardar' of Karthi.

Great loss

The year left behind some sad moments as the Telugu cinema lost two great personalities. Actor Krishna, popularly known as 'super star' by his fans, died of cardiac arrest leaving a void in the field. Making a debut in 1965, the hero acted in over 350 films in a span of 50 years giving a number of hits to the industry. He was the only hero who acted in over 15 films in a year. Known for daringness, he produced films like 'Alluri Sitharama Raju' and 'Devadasu' taking much risk. He also wielded a megaphone for several flicks. His contemporary Krishnam Raju too breathed his last in the year. Known as 'Rebel star', Krishnam Raju acted in over 180 movies and won several awards for his scene-stealing performance.