Don’t know what miracles happened anywhere but Tollywood shined bright in 2012. Few days are left for the year to end but Telugu cinema is filled with joy. Big films brought big successes. Some of them disappointed. Overall, it has been a good year which showed the mark of few heroes and directors as well. The combo of star hero and star directors also showed good results. The time has come to have a look at who have been the best in the business.
‘Raja’mouli
He has once again proved that he is the number 1 director in Tollywood. With ‘Eega’ he proved that he can score hit without a hero. Not just in Telugu he got accolades from other languages also for this. With ‘Eega’ his reputation went a step higher and so did the respect and regard. Without doubt, he is the director of the year.
Power Director
Power star doesn’t need an introduction but a director who has power is Harish Shankar and he has proved that with ‘Gabbar Singh’. At a point when directors were not sure how to show Pawan, Harish entered and did the needful. ‘Gabbar Singh’ stands at number 1 this year and number 2 after ‘Magadheera’ in Tollywood history. Above all, he has become like God to Pawan Kalyan fans. By making necessary changes to a remake he showed how a hit can be got. With this he got the status of a star director. Keep it up Harish!
Commercial Magician
Trivikram has got the name of a person who makes films beyond the IQ of commercial audience. That’s why the commercial results for his films are limited. But for the first time he reduced his ‘standard’ and made a film, that is ‘Julayi’. The film scored a hit and became one among the top 5 grosser. With this, Trivikram also cleared the bad mark that he takes ages to complete a film. He did ‘Julayi’ in short span and gave profits to buyers, producer. As a result, he got new following among mass audience. With this, Trivikram discovered the ‘commercial’ magic.
Puri..Why This Kolaveri!
Top director Puri Jagannadh is missing his track. After ‘Pokiri’ his standard has been coming down film by film. With an urge to complete films quickly the quality has come down rapidly. ‘Businessman’ was commercial success but it was not Puri’s quality product. Mahesh Babu star power brought the required openings for that. His next ‘Devudu Chesina Manushulu’ made everyone say ‘Oh My God!!’. Later, he spoiled a golden chance by making a poor ‘Cameraman Ganga Tho Rambabu’ with Pawan Kalyan. But now Puri seems to be taking the require precautions with ‘Iddaramayilatho’. Let us see what Jagan does.
Intellectuals Failed
Directors Krish and Sekhar Kammula who have a strong following among particular set of audience failed to impress. Of course, they didn’t disappoint completely but they failed to reach the levels they set. ‘LIB’ ‘KVJ’ got mixed responses from audience. Usually both directors create a strong impact but this time they failed. It is better they are careful in future.
Congrats!!
When young Sampath Nandi was given ‘Racha’ doubts were expressed. But he had the right raw material for a potboiler and with support from Ram Charan fans he scored a hit. Now he has to prove his talent at the next level. Similarly, Ravi Babu wowed with ‘Avunu’ and proved that there is none better than him for making small budget flicks. Crossing the limits of adult comedy with ‘Ee Rojullo’ director Maruthi came up with another vulgar comedy ‘Bus Stop’. Though he has two successes, if he repeats the trend he will become a ‘Boothu’ director. Vikram Kumar impressed with ‘Ishq’. Others like G Nageswar Reddy, Veerabhadram Chowdary came up with decent films and won the accolades of producers.
What Happened??
Gunasekhar was the first name for heavy budget flicks but with the film ‘Nippu’ he brought a threat to his existence. If he doesn’t deliver a hit soon he might fade away soon. Same is the case with Teja. He came with ‘Neeku Naaku Dash Dash’ and that further complicated his position. Lawrence disappointed with ‘Rebel’. He is known for giving a treat to mass audience but he could not do that this time. ‘Rebel’ became a bad mark in Prabhas’s list of films. Karunakaran got a flop with ‘Endukante Premanta’. Instead of relying on his own talent he copied from Hollywood and failed. Boyapati Srinu could not deliver with ‘Dammu’ and could not meet the expectations after ‘Simha’. Actor/directors Prakash Raj, Vennela Kishore have proved they cannot be good directors. Senior director K Raghavendra Rao could not impress with ‘Shirdi Sai’ and ended with an average result. M S Raju failed second time as director as he could not give a good debut to his son.
These are the days when directors are taking equal remuneration as heroes. More than hero’s face, the name of the director has more value on the poster. If the directors can realize that and put efforts the audience will welcome them. With the experience of 2012 let us hope they will come up with better and more successful films in the future.
