Out of all genres in commercial film acting especially for Tollywood, Comedy is the toughest of all. It takes lot of effort and innovation for a brilliant comedy sequence to click. In fact, many blockbusters also rely heavily on comedians and separate comedy tracks for the success of their respective films.
While comedy was singlehandedly ruled by actors like Brahmanandam, Kota Srinivasa Rao and Babu Mohan earlier, many new actors emerged with unique talent and give a good relief from routine laughter.Our film industry often boasts about maximumversatile comedians in our industry. But many big heads like AVS, MS Narayana, Dharmavarapu Subramanyam, Kondavalasa, Telangana Sakuntala passed away. And several talented comedians like LB Sriram, Krishna Bhagawan, Suman Shetty, Tagubothu Ramesh, Venu Madhav etc are not seen often.
Writer turned star comedian LB Sriram is now considered only for serious and sentimental roles (his last appearance in Sarrainodu is something similar).Villain turned comedian Krishna Bhagavan who once rose to the level of a hero with John Appa Rao 40+ is also not seen much these days. The talented Thagubothu Ramesh is unfortunately doing the same drunkard characters and his screen time has also fallen drastically (his last appearance is apparently Eedo Rakam Aado Rakam as a drunkard rickshaw puller – Abbaa thammudu!)
While ex-star comedian Venu Madhav is touted to be ill and that’s why not doing well in movies, the likes Suman Shetty who enjoyed stardom in the early 2000s is now washed with the ever flowing current of talent in the industry.
The makers are opting for instant comedy instead of strong author backedcharacters and sequences. The only comedians who are consistently appearing these days are Posani Krishnamurali and Prudhvi.
Now we have very less directors who bank on full length comedy flicks which is also one of the reasons behind comedians fading out. Filmmakers like Jandhyala and EVV Satyanarayana were pioneers of such comedy writing but it is not the same anymore. Unfortunately the golden age for memorable hilarious comedy has ended and several talented comedians like LB Sriram, Krishna Bhagvan, Suman Shetty, Venu Madhav are in the vulnerable state. Though new talent is always welcomed, Telugu audience are seriously missing these comedians. Hope and wish for the good old days to be back!