Action heroes knock-out lover boys in box-office ring

With reigning star Allu Arjun’s `Duvvada Jagannadam’ also drawing sensational openings of Rs 40 crore in four days in AP, TS, it looks like Telugu viewers are patronising big-bang action films, unmindful of wafer-thin plot, over love stories and comic-capers..”I believe in positivity, since there are more good souls in the society than bad,” said Allu Arjun at an event to thank viewers for making his tale of a Brahmin boy who goes on a killing spree a hit.

“Viewers verdict is ultimate and they have blessed us overwhelmingly,’ he adds and shrewdly undermines the critics who panned his film. Even producer Dil Raju expressed happiness for scoring a hattrick of hits. “I am elated since after hits like `Sathamanam Bhavati’ and `Nenu Local’, our banner has scored an hattrick with `DJ” he adds.

Even family hero and seasoned star Venkatesh had to showcase his muscles and brooding anger in `Guru’ to spin box-office magic. Although, lover boys like Nani and Sharwanand had their share of success but the first six months of 2017 truly belonged to action stars and anger-driven films. Because Sharwanand couldn’t repeat the success with his comic-caper `Radha’, revolving around a funny cop, which failed live up to the expectations.

Actually, it was megastar Chiranjeevi who set the tone for the year with action flick `Khaidi No 150’, followed by his arch rival and action hero Balakrishna who swayed viewers off their feet with his warrior role in `Gautamiputra Satakarni’, In between these two giants, young actor Sharwanand wooed viewers with his boy-next-door role and triumphed as a lover boy with smashing hit `Sathamanam Bhavati’.

Despite Pawan Kalyan’s action-centric `Katamarayudu’ failed to impress, but action star Prabhas became the biggest crowd-puller of the year with `Bahubali 2’ and his macho looks and war sequences made the epic fantasy to set a unbeatable record of more than Rs 200 crore net collections in AP, TS and established that action heroes are here to stay for good.

According to producer Puppala Ramesh, love stories and comic-caper have a limited reach like `Rarandoi Vedukka Chuddam’ which could manage Rs 20 crore plus and `Nenu Local’ Rs 30 crore-plus but action films transcended Rs 50 and 100 crore mark this season. “For instance, Allu Arjun delivered biggest hit of his career like `Sarrainodu’ only after transforming himself into a complete action hero with rippling muscles, away from cute lover boy image in films like `Arya’ and `Bunny’ and bolstered his fan base,” adds Ramesh.

Even though more than 10 to 15 films with new faces including `Kadhali’ and `Krishnudinta Ramudanta’ were released but couldn’t make an impact at the box-office. Filmmakers tried to woo audience with scorching scenes in films like `Fashion Designer’ and `Babu Baga Busy” but were truly disappointed.

Giving a different take to the first six months of 2017, distributor Ramakrishna says “Few stars managed to score hits despite poor content purely riding on the holiday crowds, be it Sankranthi, Ugadi and summer holidays. For instance, a family-oriented film like `Sathamanam Bhavati’ wouldn’t have tasted similar success if it wasn’t released during the 3-day festival. Similarly, `Rarandoi....’ largely benefited from summer holiday crowds,”