At a cursory glance, looking for memorable Telugu films among the 2014 releases seems like searching for a needle in a haystack. We didn’t have an uplifting Queen (Hindi), an edgy film-within-a-film like Jigarthanda (Tamil) or a heart warming Bangalore Days (Malayalam) to boast of. Many big ventures re-churned old templates — storylines that threw up no surprises, unending punch dialogues and the villain being reduced to a comic character.
Not that all small films fared better. Quite a few of them, with their unappealing narration, were enough to make the audience leave the halls midway.
Imaginary space
The silver lining came through a few films, both big and small. The year began with Sukumar’s 1-Nenokkadine . Though a box office turkey, 1 will be remembered as a path-breaking venture. As the protagonist (effectively portrayed by Mahesh Babu) struggles to differentiate between the happenings in real and illusionary spaces, Sukumar nudges viewers to do some interpretations themselves. Not playing to the gallery proved to be disastrous for this big budget venture. In contrast, Yevadu , which released at the same time, became a hit. But the discerning film lover is still analysing and de-constructing 1 on blogs, hoping that more filmmakers will toy with unusual ideas.
Summer bonanza
Summer saw the arrival of Surender Reddy’s Race Gurram . The director knew how to entertain within the parameters of mainstream commercial cinema. Allu Arjun, supported by Brahmanandam as Kill Bill Pandey, were enough to keep the crowds coming in. There was more holiday cheer through Vikram Kumar’s Manam , which brought the three generations of Akkineni family together. An improbable story smartly told, riding on the charm of the cast, was an ode to Akkineni Nageswara Rao.
The writing matters
The small gems came in later. Srinivas Avasarala’s Oohalu Gusagusalade was a treat with a well-written screenplay, apt cast and neat execution. Avasarala had registered the title in 2010, knocked the doors of several producers, was rejected by three and kept hanging by 19 others. “Sai Korrapati was the 23rd producer I approached and he backed me to the hilt,” he says. A mechanical engineer, Avasarala studied screenwriting at University of California, LA. Avasarala feels knowing the basics of screenplay writing helps. He feels Oohalu… could have had an even better run at the theatres. “The film has two million views on youtube and many write to me saying they missed it in cinema halls,” he says.
Avasarala is working on two ideas but insists he is done with romantic comedies. “There’s only so much one can do in this genre. Boy meets girl, they fall in love, part ways and re-unite,” he quips.
Solving a puzzle
Far removed from romantic comedies, but with some scope for romance in its plot was Chandoo Mondeti’s Karthikeya . The thriller brought together the Swamy Ra Ra hit pair Nikhil and Swathi. “The script was ready two years ago. An article I read about a temple inspired me to make Karthikeya . I narrated the story to a few friends outside the industry to see if they liked it. I was careful about how I placed the songs. I didn’t want to waste the audience’s time,” he says.
Chandoo doesn’t think he has pushed the envelope. “I think I played it safe. I am lucky; there are many others with brighter ideas and wanting to make films, but I got to rope in the right people into the project,” he says. The climax elicited criticism for tying up the loose ends all of a sudden. “This is a feedback I’ve received from many. Maybe I should have gone into more details,” he avers.
Family matters
The family/social drama space saw a riveting Drushyam , remade from the Malayalam hit Drishyam . Venkatesh stepped out of his comfort zone to reprise Mohanlal’s role. Directed by Sripriya, this family drama woven into a thriller was a bold step for Telugu cinema in recent years.
Fervent voices
In between, other brave voices also steered clear of the formulaic path. Chandamama Kathalu, Paathasala, Prathinidhi , Galipatnam and Dikkulu Choodaku Ramaiyya were some of them, touching upon anthology stories, pre-marital sex and politics. A few like Oka Laila Kosam and Rowdy Fellow , despite not challenging conventional storytelling, made for reasonably good entertainers.
Sujeeth’s Run Raja Run got a lot of attention, thanks to spirited performance by Sharwanand and deft storytelling in the latter portions. Now working on his next script, Sujeeth admits he did a balancing act, packing in entertainment elements before revealing the drama in the end.
Lost in the whirlwind of releases was the National Award winning Naa Bangaaru Talli . Narrating the true story of a victim of sex trafficking fighting her way back to freedom and making a startling discovery of a trafficker at close quarters, this film by Rajesh Touchriver saw the light of the day with the help of crowd funding. A bold film that had the potential to reach more audience with the right marketing and support.
Telugu cinema has rarely got it right with a buddy flick. Debutant Anish Krishna’s Ala Ela plugged this gap. The scenes between Rahul Ravindran, Vennela Kishore and Shaani were a riot, making the audience overlook other flaws in the film.
