Tollywood’s Half Yearly Review:
According to Cine Pundits the success rate of movies in film industry is only 10% and 2013 seems to be no exception. The first six months have given mixed results, big movies were satisfactory while the movies with high hopes ended up being disastrous. Few small budget films fared well, while many failed at the box office. First half of 2013 saw the release of approx. 85 films, out of which only 7 made the hit list. Nayak, Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu (SVSC), Mirchi, Swamy Raa Raa, Gunde Jaari Gallanthayindhe (GJG), Thadaka and Prema Katha Chitram fared well at the Box-Office. 45 dubbing films were also released of which only Vishwaroopam caught the public attention.
There have been ample number of movies released this year and at least one movie made hulchul at the box-office every Friday. Nayak which was released prior to Sankranthi and Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu (SVSC) released post Sankranthi instantly made it to the super hit list. Vinayak yet again chose the commercial formula and made a film which would gain the admiration of Chiranjeevi fans. The remix version of Chiranjeevi’s song Subhalekha Rasukunna attracted Mega fans very well. Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu was well received by the family audience because of the songs and the way two big heroes were presented in the lead. As there was no other release during the festival time this film made good collections. Trade analysts estimate that Nayak and SVSC together grossed Rs.120 Cr at the Box-Office.
Next in line was Prabhas and he made a big splash at the box-office with his movie ‘Mirchi’. Koratala Shiva’s presentation of Prabhas and Devi Sri Prasad’s music made the film stand with confidence. Though the film was criticized for being like an old wine in new bottle, the audience ignored it and after this success Koratala Shiva got noticed by big heroes in the industry. Small Budget film Swami Raa Raa also scored well at the Box-Office. Even though it was made with a budget of just Rs.4 Cr, the film made a business of Rs.10 Crore and the debutant director Sudhir Verma proved his talent with this film.
As summer arrived, Nithin came up with a feel good love story Gunde Jaari Gallanthayindhe. The younger audience liked the film for good music, love story and the entertainment it offered. This film became the biggest hit in Nithin’s career and it is estimated that the movie made a business of Rs.20 Cr! After a long time Naga Chaitanya also managed to score a hit and showed his “Thadaka”. Although a remake of Tamil hit Vettai, it was modified to suit the Telugu audience. Another small budget film Prema Katha Chitram scored a big hit at the box-office. The combination of Horror and Entertainment was received well by the audience. Krishna’s nephew Sudheer Babu finally tasted success.
Movies with high expectations bombed at the Box-Office and big heroes couldn’t taste much success. Venkatesh’s Shadow was a big flop while Greekuveerudu and Iddaramayilatho couldn’t win the hearts of the audience. Jr.NTRs ‘Baadshah’ wavered between Hit and Average talk and eventually settled as an average grosser. With great difficulty the film it managed to get back the investments. Small Budget films inspired by Ee Rojullo and Bus Stop also couldn’t gain fruitful results.
Dubbing films also had a bitter experience, only Kamal Hassan’s Vishwaroopam could fare well. The remaining films release was not even noticed. IPL matches in the summer also hampered the collections quite badly. As a result, summer was not at all fortunate for the Film Industry. That is why the Film Industry which is supposed to earn First Class Marks had to get satisfied with just Pass Marks.
Film Industry is going to witness hulchul in the coming days with upcoming releases of Yevadu, Ramayya Vatavayya and Attarintiki Daredi. All these films have high expectations and the film industry is pinning high hopes on the second half of the year. If all the Big Budget films run successfully and Small Budget films earn a good name - 2013 would be a Hit year for Film Industry!