Time fleets and so is the case with a plethora of movies that release every week. Of the fifty odd movies released so far in the present year in Tollywood, there has been only one sensational hit, four super hits (counting the success of Hanuman Junction into 2002), one hit and a few safe bets. Statistically speaking, the hit percentage so far has been 10%, which is neither worse nor better than what it was in the first half of last year. If just being consistent (and not competent) is a consolation then Tollywood indeed did better. At least, it did not deteriorate from last year's performance if not improve and prove that it could do better. But don't we all agree at least on one point that our moviemakers could do much better than what they think they can.

Now, what our moviemakers think is another debatable issue. If they thought that roping in sought after heroes and heroines and one-hit old directors to deliver instant hits then they were proved wrong with the dismal failures of Vasu, Seema Simham. If they thought that packaging a movie with technical gloss, daredevil stunts and breathtaking locales, catering to the eyes and not the hearts of the audience thereby shunning the soul of the movie, then they better think again after what happened to Takkari Donga. If they thought that remaking successful movies from ever reliable languages without bothering whether they suited our nativity or if they were being well made without tampering the originals, then they better learn lessons from the poor performances of Seshu and Tappu Chesi Pappu Koodu. Lastly, if they thought that they could cash on the 'youth frenzy' by casting wooden faces in crappy college themes then… well examples in this category are endless and before they make us listless, lets run through the hits, safe bets and duds in the first half of 2002.

Sensational hit

Aadi (review)
Cast: NTR, Keerthi Chawla
Music: Mani Sharma
Producer: P Naga Lakshmi
Story - Screenplay - Direction: VV Vinayak
Theatrical Release Date: 28th March 2002

Jr. NTR who has tasted alternating successes and failures like Tarun with Ninnu Choodalani, Student No. 1, Subbu and Aadi, has gained enormous mass following with the sensational hit of Aadi. The manner in which VV Vinayak has projected Jr. NTR as a mass hero is unbelievable. With the success of Aadi, Jr. NTR has certainly gained an edge over his contemporaries like Tarun and Uday Kiran. VV Vinayak's amazing direction, Spell binding action sequences (by Vikram Dharma), Jr. NTR himself and Paruchuri Brothers' dialogues (to some extent) have lifted Aadi from a routine seema movie to a riveting hit. Aadi is the biggest hit so far in 2002.
Persons most benefited by the success of Aadi: Jr. NTR and VV Vinayak

Super hits (listed based on their release dates)

Hanuman Junction (review)
Cast: Jagapati Babu, Venu, Arjun, Laya, Sneha, Vijaya Lakshmi
Dialogues: Thotapalli Madhu
Music: Suresh Peters
Producer: MV Lakshmi
Screenplay - Direction: M Raja
Theatrical Release Date: 21st December 2001

Though Hanuman Junction released in the final week of 2001, its success saga flagged off in 2002. Though a remake of a Malayalam hit Thenkasipattanam, M Raja adapted it well to suit the Telugu nativity and filled it with ample doses of comedy and mass elements which made the audience visit this Junction so frequently that it turned out to be one of the super hits of 2001/2002. The success of this movie has added another feather to Editor Mohan's (the presenter of this movie and father of M. Raja) cap whose last movie Kshemanga Velli Labhanga Randi was a super hit as well.
Person(s) most benefited by the success of Hanuman Junction: Editor Mohan

Nuvvu Leka Nenu Lenu (NLNL) (review)
Cast: Tarun, Arti Agrawal
Music: RP Patnaik
Producer: D Suresh Babu
Story - Screenplay - Direction - Dialogues: Y Kasi Viswanath
Theatrical Release Date: 14th January 2002

Released during the festive mood of Sankranthi, NLNL had to face tough competition from Balakrishna's Seema Simham and Mahesh Babu's Takkari Donga. But it easily emerged a winner among the Sankranthi releases mainly due to good music (by RP), rib-tickling comedy (by Sunil), Arti Agarwal's oomph and wonderful treatment by director Kasi Viswanath. Though it looked like an extension to Nuvve Kavali and Nuvvu Naaku Nachhav, the audience did not mind sipping old wine in a new bottle than being bothered by ferocious lions and cowboy thieves.
Persons most benefited by the success of NLNL: Arti Agarwal and Kasi Viswanath

Santosham (review)
Cast: Nagarjuna, Gracy Singh, Shriya, Prabhudeva
Music: RP Patnaik
Producer: KL Narayana
Screenplay: Gopi Mohan & Dasaradh
Story - Dialogues - Direction: Dasaradh
Theatrical Release Date: 9th May 2002

Santosham is all about a simple family story, some lilting tunes, beautiful heroines (especially Shirya who has become the latest heartthrob of Andhra) and handsome Nag. Wine gets better as it grows old. The same applies to Nag and his charm. Though Santosham reminds us of a plenty of Hindi and Telugu movies, Dasaradh indeed has done a commendable job in making a simple story click in such a big way. No stiff competition from other movies has also helped Santosham garner huge collections thus making it the biggest grosser among Nagarjuna's films. Nag, Shriya and soulful music (by RP) are the success elements of Santosham.
People most benefited by the success of Santosham: Shriya, Dasaradh and Nagarjuna

Jayam (review)
Cast: Nitin, Sada, Gopichand
Music: RP Patnaik
Producer - Dialogues - Story - Screenplay - Direction: Teja
Theatrical Release date: 14th June 2002

Teja is one director who knows the pulse of the youth like the back of his hand. His earlier works in entertaining and educating (?) the youth with Chitram and Nuvvu Nenu have been successful. But his latest movie Jayam inspite of receiving average reviews from the critics is touted to become one of the biggest grossers in the history of Telugu Cinema. Thanks to Teja's 'real' explosive interviews and bold statements about Jayam, people are thronging to the theaters to see what actually made this move a Jayam (success). Beautiful heroine, power packed performance by Gopichand, neatly interleaved songs, good camerawork and above all Teja's imaginative direction contributed to the success of this movie. If Jayam maintains the same tempo in its collections withstanding the tough competition in the coming weeks from Allari Ramudu and Indra then it is poised to become another sensational hit of 2002.
Person(s) most benefited by the success of Jayam: Teja. It's too early to talk about Sada and Gopichand, though they were very good in this movie.

Hit

Lahiri Lahiri Lahirilo (LLL) (review)
Cast: Aditya, Ankita, Hari Krishna, Bhanu Priya, Vineeth, Sanghavi, Suman, Rachana
Dialogues: Chintapally Ramana
Music: MM Keeravani
Story - Screenplay - Direction - Production: YVS Chowdary
Theatrical Release Date: 1st May 2002

YVS Chowdary, though dealt with an age-old story line of drama and revenge in LLL, gave a fresh treatment to this movie. He succeeded in narrating the story in an interesting style by inserting twists at the right moments. Being a multi-starrer like Hanuman Junction, LLL has good music (by Keeravani), ample comedy and enough mass elements that helped this movie become a hit venture.
Person(s) most benefited by the success of LLL: YVS Chowdhary and Hari Krishna

Some interesting notes about these hit movies -

• None of the above movies had extra-ordinary story lines, brilliantly haunting musical scores, seasoned directors and big stars (except Nagarjuna in Santosham) but still they went on to become roaring hits.
• Four of the above six movies are directed by debutants - M. Raja, Kasi Viswanath, VV Vinayak and Dasaradh - while Teja and YVS were just three films old, as directors, before Jayam and LLL respectively.
• All the directors (except M.Raja) came up with their own story for their movies apart from screenplay and direction.
• RP Patnaik scored music for three films (NLNL, Santosham and Jayam) while his favorites - Kula Sekhar (lyricist) and Usha (singer) - worked with him in all the three movies. Mani Sarma and Keeravani resurrected their positions with Aadi and LLL respectively.
• If Aadi, Hanuman Junction and LLL were more of mass movies with good fights and revenge dramas then NLNL and Santosham were more of youth, feel-good and family movies. Jayam has a right dosage of mass, youth and comedy elements. All the six movies had a good dosage of comedy proving that laughter indeed is the best medicine and the best bait to attract the audience. The bottom line is - a well-made movie irrespective of a 'mass/class' tag with ample and apt comedy would definitely click.
  

Safe bets

While Tarun and Jr. NTR tasted huge successes, Uday Kiran had to settle for an average fare with Kalusukovalani. Though it was written off initially, thanks to Devi Sri Prasad's extra-ordinary music and Pratyusha's untimely death, Kalusukovalani ended up being a profitable venture. Srikanth starrers O Chinnadana and Aaduthu Paaduthu brought smiles on the faces of their distributors mainly due to the presence of good comedy in both the films. T Ravi Babu's Allari and Usha Kiron movies' Manasunte Chalu, made on a shoestring budgets, managed to stand out on their own at the box-office turning out to be safe bets.

Bombs

Dasari - Mohan Babu's Kondaveeti Simhasanam, Mani Ratnam's dubbed film Amrutha, Tarun's Adrustam and Superstar Krishna's Chandravamsam proved that big star cast, popular directors do not necessarily mean success. In fact these movies turned out to be such damp squibs that they were pulled out of the theaters within a couple weeks of their release.

Breezy bloopers

Vendi Mabbulu, Manasutho, Raghava, Neeto Cheppalani can be called breezy bloopers because their breeze at the box-office was so swift and effortless that they were pulled out of the theaters faster than the blink of an eye.

Fast Forward

This month witnesses the release of two mammoth projects directed by B. Gopal. The first one is Allari Ramudu starring Jr. NTR, Arti Agarwal, Gajala and Nagma and the second one is Indra starring Megastar Chiranjeevi, Sonali Bendre and Arti Agarwal. In the coming months of the second half of 2002 there are other eagerly awaited ventures like Balakrishna - VV Vinayak's untitled venture, Venkatesh's Gemini, Nagarjuna's Manmadhudu, Mahesh Babu's Baabee and Okkadu, Uday Kiran's Holi, MS Raju - Uday Kiran's Nee Sneham, Tarun - Trivikram's untitled venture, Tarun - AM Ratnam's Nee Manasu Naaku Telusu, Jr NTR - AM Ratnam's Naga, Krishnavamsi's Khadgam, Vamsi's Avunu Valliddaru Istapaddaru, Poori Jagannath's Idiot and above all Megastar's Anji. As Pawan Kalyan's Johnny would release only sometime in the first half of 2003, he will not have any releases in 2002.

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