Commercial Tollywood Music has always been an intrinsic part of the Telugu film industry. The formula for success has been tried and tested over and over. Still, it seems to be a work in progress as far as the first quarter of 2017 goes. This success goes to all the small budget movies where music has been used as a pivotal plot point in the entirety of the narrative. But unfortunately, the style faded away and never lasted that long. The singles released plays a vital role as it helps in the marketing of a particular movie. The post-release success of any movie is it commercial goes to the marketing campaigns. But Music is now being used as a tool to create a buzz as the singles released made some huge hits on YouTube.
The Universal Rule Of Single
Khaidi No. 150, has been one of the very movies to have used this rule. The singles released were a hit and it owes much of its success to the control of single releases. Gautamiputra Satakarni, on the other hand, stayed old school even though the music of that movie did gain popularity. It did set the tone for the first quarter of this year. Chirantan Bhatt, on the other hand, showed his brilliance with the aid of Seetharama Sastry’s lyrics where certain words like ekimeeda gained popularity. Shatamanam Bhavati ended the season with a rather humble noted by bringing back the 80s nostalgic tracks with hits like ‘Nilavade’. MM Keeravani’s Om Namo Venkatesaya failed even though it had that nostalgic factor. Unfortunately, the film did not get the chance to get received musically in spite of having a bright range of soundtracks. Devi Sri Prasad was on his hit streak as he kept on producing hits after hits with commercial chartbusters from Khaidi No 150, Duvvada Jagannatham and so on. He did not disappoint the industry. Ammadu Let’s do Kummudu has primarily been treated as an anthem amongst the Chiranjeevi fans ever since it hit the big screen. Neeru Neeru’ by Shankar Mahadevan has also been received with much positivity, and it was surprising. DSP’s Nenu Local was somewhere in the middle of success and failure where singles like Side Side Please’, & ‘Arere Yekkada were quick hits.
Anup Rubens was surprisingly good in Katamarayudu where his formulaic score was somewhat successful. The list would be incomplete without the mention of Baahubali-The Conclusion’s album which was as glorious as the movie itself. ‘Kanna nidurinchara’ is easily one of the best lullabies in the industry. ‘Dandalayya’ was hauntingly beautiful whereas ‘Hamsa Naava’ and ‘Bhali Bhali Bhalira’ were rather more contextual than being memorable.
Importance Shift towards Background Score
The other part of the unique part of the industry where chart-toppers weren’t compulsory focused on its background score to give that dramatic effect. Krishna Kumar did a commendable job with Ghazi and Achu’s work in Venkatapuram is also noteworthy. R Sunny once again blew our minds with the works in Keshava. There were six apparent songs on the album, but it gelled well with Prashant Pillai’s background score. The whole experience was somewhat immersive and encapsulating. Another example from the same category is Mani Sharma’s Ami Thumi which was equally compelling. The song ‘Aibaboi’ was able to emulate the raw and conversational songs which were prevalent in Telugu movie industry.
The last quarter of this year is packed with potential blockbusters. Like Spyder, Paisa Vasoo, Ungarala Rambabu, it will be one impressive year.