Box Office 2009 @ telugu cinema.com

[Bezawada Bebbuli]

2009 Blockbusters:

1. Arundhati

2. Kick

3. Magadheera

 

Hits or Partial Hits:

1. Akashamanta

2. Billa

3. Ride

4. Gopi Gopika Godavari

5. Bendu Apparao RMP

 

Good openers that could not sustain till the end:

1. Maska

2. Bumper Offer

3. Arya 2

[Bezawada Bebbuli]

Telugu Cinema faced so many problems before, but this year the problems they had were a lot different from before. During the first half of the year, stars were busy with politics and elections, and most films had to stall their shootings and wait, as the stars roamed all over the state. Towards the fag end of the year, release of films was delayed or even stopped due to the political agitations pertaining to separate Telangana. Some films that announced their release date were postponed indefinitely! Even films already in the theaters were called off due to problems with the agitators. Shootings were disrupted, sets suffered arson, cast and crew were attacked, production/distribution offices were attacked and even taken over for a while. The list of atrocities goes on, giving sleepless nights to producers who loan money on high interest rates. The year had only three big hits Arundhathi, Kick, Magadheera but that's better than last year! On the other hand, this year also witnessed a lot of flops too! Interestingly, two dubbed films came up on the list of Telugu hit films this year. More interesting is that they were non-Indian! 2012 and Avatar became super-grosser dubbed films of the year, setting their own records and breaking records in some centers. While 150 directors debuted last year, nearly half of that number - 74, to be precise - ventured into the film industry in 2009. Only a few of them are worth-mentioning, though.

[Bezawada Bebbuli]

Following is a monthwise review of Telugu Cinema last year.

 

January

 

While 2008 started with Posani Krishna Murali's Aapada Mokkula Vaadu, 2009 started with his Mental Krishna. The film showed his bad taste and proved that he cannot even copy a film properly. (The film is a freemake of Dasari's Swayamvaram.) Krissnavamsi came up with Sashirekha Parinayam with Tarun and Genelia in the lead but Tarun essentially only supporting her role until the climax. The film was just okay at the box-office. It set a new trend in Tollywood - the movie's original DVD released within 50 days and the film was even telecast by a TV channel within just 100 days of its release! Indumathi, another freemake (of Alfred Hitchcock's much-celebrated film xxxxxx), didn't hit the bull's eye. Maskaa started off with good openings and settled as average once Arundhati hit the screen. Arundhati was delayed for various reasons, and was finally released to extraordinary openings, becoming one of the big hits of all time in Telugu Cinema. The first 40-day run was tremendous but the collections slowly started fizzling after 6 weeks. Neverthless, it is a blockbuster. Finally, producer Shyamprasad Reddy's hard work paid off! Much delayed and talked-about film Bank was unable to sustain any interest and became a super dud at the box-office, marking the second straight Telugu film and flop for Jackie Shroff (Asthram being the first). Rest of the films... "release ayyi... pOyaayi" (just came and went). Masth under the direction of S.V. Krishna Reddy, marking the Telugu film-making debut of Zee Films Pvt. Ltd., had big names associated with it but failed miserably anyway.

 

Other duds of the month: Mahanagaram lo... Shiva-Chandu, Muddabanthi, Police Adhikari, Fitting Master, Mister Gireesham, Dadagiri, Shh.. Idi Chaalaa Manchi Ooru, Nallabbaayi-Thellammaayi, Dhee Ante Dhee, BharathMahan.Com, Veta, Manjeera, Sreesailam.

 

Abroad BO: Sashirekha Parinayam was bought for around twenty five lakh rupees. Though distributors were safe, the exibitors sank into deep trouble with the film being a washout. Maska was bought for around 50 lakh rupees, and the film was a flop for everyone. Arundhati was bought for a whopping one crore rupees and everyone still made money on the film.

 

Blockbuster: Arundhati

Average: Maskaa, Sashirekha Parinayam

Super Dud: Masth

 

Debutant directors of the month: G.L.B. Srinivas (Mahanagaramlo... Shiva-Chandu), Harsha Reddy (Indumathi), Ramu (Police Adhikari), Ramana Mogili (Bhairavi), Nani Krishna (Nallabbaayi-Thellammaayi), Viswaprasad (Mister Gireesham), Paamu Seenu (Veta), Akula Raghava (BharatMahan.Com), Arunkumar (Bank), Saibhanu (Manjeera)

[Bezawada Bebbuli]

February

 

This month witnessed the release of 10 straight films. Konchem Ishtam Konchem Kashtam started with a good talk but was unable to sustain the interest. The film did complete 50 days in 99 centers by March, but the producer and distributors too lost money in the project ultimately. Rajasekhar's Sathyameva Jayathe made a lot of pre-release publicity for all wrong reasons, but the final product exited the box-office quite silently. Drona made into the news often for Priyamani's bikini act, and not for the debutant director who comes from Rajamouli's school or for the film's hero Nithin. The film ended up as and addition to the series of flops for the hero. Charmme's 16 Days, a free-make of Hollywood's Lucky Number Slevin (2006), was a dud too, though this film also based its publicity in its heroine's sizzling acts. Not many people were even aware of other releases of the month, such as Subham, Janta, Mondi Mogullu-Penki Pellaalu, Soldier, and Tsunami 7x. Dubbed version of critically acclaimed Tamil director Bala's film, Nenu Devunni was a disaster at the box-office too, while it's rumored that the dubbing rights were bought for a whopping one-crore rupees! The winner? With not even a threat of a competition from any other film's run, the already successful, trendsetting movie Arundhati continued in the number one slot for the month of February too.

 

Film-joke of the month: Konchem Ishtam Konchem Kashtam is about divorced parents and marital clashes. Hero Siddharth was found saying in several interviews that their efforts are really paid off even if one divorced couple gets back into the institution of marriage after watching this film. Well, how about the real-life marriage issues of Prakash Raj and even Siddharth himself?!

 

Debutant directors of the month: Kishore (Konchem Ishtam Konchem Kashtam), G. Sivaprasad Reddy (Subham), Om Prakash Martha (Janta), Karunakumar (Drona), Prabhu Solomon (16 Days), K. Ramana Rao (Mondi Mogullu-Penki Pellaalu), A.M. Chowdary (Tsunami 7x) - only Kishore (a.k.a. Dolly) was promising. Karunakumar's Drona was too hyped for its lack of substance.

 

Average: Konchem Ishtam Konchem Kashtam

Super Duds: Drona, Sathyameva Jayathe

 

Abroad BO: Konchem Ishtam Konchem Kashtam was bought for Rs. 70 lakhs and ended up in a loss of Rs. 15 lakhs on the whole. Drona and 16 Days were released abroad but didn't get any close to making a mark.

[Bezawada Bebbuli]

March

 

Eight and a half straight films were released this month. (The 50% credit goes to partly-dubbed-partly-reshot Aakashamanta from Tamil.) Shivaji's Naa Girlfriend Baagaa Rich, a free-make of Eight Heads in a Duffel Bag, had richness in its title but ended as a poor one as it didn't meet expectations even in the much-touted aspect of comedy. Suresh Krissna's Mesthri with Dasari Narayana Rao generated a lot of hype and curiosity but the result was very different from all the talk it garnered; the film ended up as a dud even though this film had maximum number of prints (~200) in Dasari's acting career! (Dasari, as usual as it may seem, denies the fact that the film was a washout.) Sunil Kumar Reddy's Sontha Vooru got okay reviews but only L.B. Sriram shone through this film with his strikingly different getup and penning appreciable dialogues. Director Raj Aditya of Pourudu came up with Mallee Mallee that had a suicide backdrop, but sadly committed suicide himself on the day his film was released; the film was a flop too. Mee Sreyobhilashi fame Eswar Reddy's second venture Manorama with Charmme got mixed reviews and went silent at the end. Amma Rajashekar's Beebhatsam with his brother Yuvan in the lead had no takers either. Dil Raju's nearly-straight film Aakashamanta didn't seem to have worked out too. Thus, the month of March did not register a single hit for Tollywood. With the general elections nearing schedule, stars were roaming all over the state and people were watching film stars in road shows and other public gatherings anyway. Bad films and exams added up as more reasons that all finally rendered theaters nearly empty.

 

Debutant directors of the month: Nagendra Kumar (Naa Girlfriend Baagaa Rich), Vaikunthalavya (Jajimalli)

 

Abroad BO: Dasari Narayana Rao himself released Mesthri abroad. The film registered itself as the first-ever Telugu film to have its audio released in the USA too simultaneously, and there were several freebies and discounts announced for moviegoers too. Yet, the film didn't make any impact among the audiences abroad. Sontha Vooru was released abroad with a prize money offer of $500 too, but no one was ready to try their luck in theaters. Dil Raju's magic didn't work out well this time, as Aakashamanta failed to get even decent openings overseas!

 

Average: Aakashamanta

Super Duds: Nearly every movie!

[Bezawada Bebbuli]

April

 

16 movies hit the silver screen in the month of April, just about 25% of which were straight Telugu films and the rest were dubbed from English or Tamil. Billa, a remake of legendary NTR's Yugandhar but titled following the Tamil versions from the long past and recent past, was made with a huge budget. It was released amidst huge expectations, but the film's result was not anywhere comparable. From the title and to shot division and camera angles, director Meher Ramesh dished out a merely a faithful copy of the newer Tamil version. Prabhas looked stylish and handsome in his attire of an international don, and Anushka was glamorous too. With these aspects as its "plus points", the film could barely scramble to be an average fare. NRI Narendranath’s Nene Mukhyamantrinaithe... is a disaster from the word go. It created some hype due to censor problems. But, at the end, it was just a damp squib. (Oh, yeah, the film did come to the theaters... in case you didn't know!) Mumait Khan's Punnami Nagu created much curiosity for her bikini posters and once-crazy combination of Kodandarami Reddy and Yandamuri Virendranath. The film was however a big letdown to everyone, as the once-successful combination was unable to keep up with the present trend, resulting in a disaster. Director Samudra gave an average film with Adhinetha. After a hat-trick of flops like Vijayadasami, Mallepuvvu, and Venkatadri, he churned out another average fare with Adhinetha, which is said to be a freemake of a Marathi film. (Samudra even revealed that the story, originally titled Adhinayakudu, was written for Chiranjeevi first.) The film was supposed to release before the polls in Andhra Pradesh but was somehow released only after the polls. Another film which bit dust in this month is Circus Circus. While the five straight Telugu films were mostly damp at the box-office, 11 films were dubbed into Telugu and released in the month of April: Vishwa (Surya, Sridevi), Ajeyudu (Tony Jha), Andadu-Agadu (Fast and Furious), Ananda Thandavam (Siddarth Venugopal, Tamannah), Seenugadu Maha Muduru (Dhanush, Shriya), Jai Sambasiva (Arjun, Saikumar, Pooja Gandhi), Kalasala (Tamannah), Pandugadu (Shivarajkumar, Hansika), etc. Only three films - Ananda Thandavam, Kalasala, and Seenugadu Maha Muduru - created some interest due to their casting, but even those three failed to click at the box-office.

 

While less number of films in April was indeed expected due to the elections, a nearly completely damp month just before summer was a blow to Tollywood.

 

Debutant directors of the month: Narendhranath (Nene Mukhyamantrinaithe...), Umesh kumar. S (Circus Circus)

 

Abroad BO: The only film that made its way to theaters abroad was Billa. Bought for 46 lakh rupees (for 11 prints), the film could not break even either! The overseas distributors lost a few lakh rupees on the whole.

 

Average: Billa, Adhinetha

Super Duds: Punnami Nagu

[Bezawada Bebbuli]

May

 

Despite elections, the summer month of May had seen the release of 26 films, out of which 7 were either dubbed into Telugu or made simultaneously as bilinguals. Debutant Mahadev-directed Mithrudu starring Balakrishna opened the scene. Balakrishna's softened new avatar was talked about some but the film didn't ring the box-office considerably, being declared a flop on the whole. Jagapathi Babu's Bangaaru Babu delayed in its release a lot and was a disaster from the word 'go' and couldn't recover print costs in some areas. Once flopped pair Raviteja and Illeana created magic this time, thanks to Surender Reddy's Kick. Despite liberal dose of vulgar dialogues by all leading cast, the film became a super hit. Mumait Khan did not reach her Target audience despite liberal skin show by Sraddha Das and Mumait Khan, and the film ended up as a total washout. Rishi alias Subhakar's directorial magnum opus Mayuri-2, which was in making for last 25 years (nearly since Mayuri released in 1982), saw light in just one theater in Hyderabad, failing to be noticed by many at all. Two of Shivaji's films released in May: 18, 20 Love Story and Diary, both co-starring Sraddha Das and both not making much impact at the box-office. Posani Krishna Murali's Raja Vaari Chepala Cheruvu scored over his Mental Krishna but didn't make much of a difference as far as box-office result is concerned, and ended damp too. Yeleti Chandrasekhar-Manchu Manoj Kumar combo Prayanam which released towards the fag end of the month got mixed reports. Super Star Krishna's 333rd film Neramu-Siksha was released (May 30) on the eve of his 66th birthday (May 31) without much expectations and went off without expectations too, like most of his "recent" films. Other releases of the month include Ee Vayasulo..., Durga, Flash News, Thaali Kadithe 100 Kotlu, Agraharam, Pranaali, Malupu, Mogudu Kaavaali, and ETV Suman's Usha Parinayam.

 

On the dubbing/bilingual front, the films that hit theaters in Andhra Pradesh in May are: Surya-Tamannah starrer Veedokkade (Ayan - Tamil), Jagadeka Sundari (High Society - Hindi), Rajadhiraja (same title, Tamil), Ananthapuram 1980 (Subramaniapuram - Tamil), Anthima Poratam (Rogue Assassin - English), Angels & Demons (same title, English) were released. While Ayan was a hit, the Telugu version couldn't repeat the result and failed. Dance Master Lawrence continued dishing out yet another film as a hero, with three heroines this time, but Rajadhiraja was a dud anyway! Ananthapuram 1980, whose original Tamil version received a lot of critical acclaim internationally too, ended a flop in Telugu because of lack of publicity and excessive violence. Vishal-Shriya starrer Pista released in Telugu and Tamil simultaneously just this week and got mixed response first, but lost like other recent Vishal starrers.

 

Debutant directors of the month: Mahadev (Mithrudu), Anand (Durga), T.Ramesh Rayalu (Ee Vayasulo...), Ashok (Flash News) Rishi (Mayuri-2), Ramesh Raja (Target), Radhakrishna (18, 20 Lovestory), K. Suribabu (Thaali Kadite 100 Kotlu), Vidyasagar (Agraharam), M. Ramakrishna (Diary), Rajavamsi (Malupu), Suman (Usha Parinayam)

 

Abroad BO: Kick, Mithrudu, Ananthapuram 1980, Edi Nijam?, Circus Circus, and Prayanam released abroad in May. Mithrudu, which marked the overseas distribution debut for music director Mani Sarma, but the film was unable to recover the investment. Kick, which was bought for 60 lakh rupees made profits even with Internet-based piracy hitting the film hard. Ananthapuram 1980 was released with a single print in California, USA but couldn't recover the one lakh rupees of investment that went into it. Circus Circus and Edi Nijam? didn't have many takers either. Prayanam received good openings abroad, thanks to the previous films of the director and hero but ended as dud in the end. Pista was advertised for overseas release but was called off in the last minute.

 

Blockbuster: Kick

Average: Mithrudu

Super Duds: All other releases

[Bezawada Bebbuli]

June

 

June had 16 straight films released. Much-publicized Aa Okkadu, which introduced Ajay as a hero and Madhurima as the heroine and N.S. Murthy as a director, turned out to be a dud at the end of the day, though the director's work and the heroine were appreciated; Ajay did not win much extra mileage with the film though. Ramesh Varma's Ride, a free-make of Beijing Bicycles, earned profits to everyone; the film was above average at the box-office. A debutant, Karuna Prakash, made a free-make of The Hand That Rocks The Cradle into Kavya's Diary starring Charmme and Manjula was also flop. An NRI director, Raj Pippalla, tried to mark his bONii (first bargain) into Telugu films with Sumanth's Boni but was unable to make it, due to slow and boring narration. Producer-director Puli Amrut's Gaalimpu with Srinivasa Reddy and Duvvasi Mohan could not see people in theaters even upon gaalimpu (search) after the first week. Chirunavvutho fame G. Ramprasad wanted to say Naa Style-e Veru with Rajasekhar, but it wasn't any different from other films, it soon proved. Surya Prathap came up with Current for Sushanth, and the film producers claimed the film hit, like always. M.S. Srichand came up with Nacchaav Alludu! with Ali, but the film was a disaster too. Durga Shankar Nath's Raju-Maharaju with Sharwanand and Mohan Babu got the talk of a sentiment film but it didn't sustain at the box-office too long. Aanandam fame Akash officially turned director with the film Sweet Heart. Thought the film's theme somewhat resembled Srikanth's old film Preyasi Raave, the audience didn't entertain the film for its rather weak heart. Music director turned director, Sasi Preetham wielded the megaphone for a second film Kitakita + Kirkit = Kriket, but the film was duck-out at BO. Paruchuri Venkateswara Rao's son Ravindranath's debut film Junction finally got a green light, but the film found no jam-packed audience at theaters and was a flop. Nagababu's Anjani Puthrudu had no takers like the rest of his recent films. Only one film which raised hopes in this month is Evarainaa.. Epudainaa.. of Varun Sandesh. The film was directed by debutant director Marthand Shankar, brother of Marthand Venkatesh. The film had good openings but even this film was unable to sustain the audience really, and ended up as a below average fare on the whole. The major minus to the film was its heroine and a weak script. Other duds released in June include Thriller, Oka Vichitram, and Rs 999/- Maathrame.

 

Debutant directors of the month: N.S. Murthy (Aa Okkadu), V. Karuna Prakash (Kavya's Diary) Raj Pippalla (Boni), M.S. Srichand (Nacchaav Alludu!), Akash (Sweet Heart), Marthand Venkatesh (Evarainaa.. Epudainaa..), K. Chandra Shekar (Anjani Puthrudu), Pusa Mahender (Rs 999/- Maathrame)

 

Abroad BO: Evarainaa.. Epudainaa.. was bought for 25 lakh rupees, and the distributor was safe but none of the exhibitors made any money. The film is thus a washout from the exhibitors' point of view. Kavya's Diary was bought for five lakh rupees but ended up a dud still. Kick continued its craze in this month with not much of a competition from other films abroad.

 

Hit: Ride

Super Duds: Boni, Naa Style-e Veru, Evaraninaa.. Epudainaa..

[Bezawada Bebbuli]

July

 

July started with Siddharth's Oye. Once-popular child artiste, Baby Shamili, became a heroine with this film. The film was possibly inspired by A Millionaire's Love Story and was directed by debutant Anand Ranga. The film opened with a good crowd but was just an average at the box-office. Japanese film Invisible Wings finally hit the screen in Telugu as Ningi Nela Naade. The film had good reviews and won a worthy critical acclaim but was not a commercial success. Vamsy's Gopi Gopika Godavari had good openings but bad reviews. However, the film slowly turned to be profitable one for producer due to the fact that the movie was made with small budget and the good openings covered it. Actor Jithendra a.k.a Chinna tried his hand at direction for the first time with the horror film Aa Intlo. He got good reviews but the film was a flop. Asha Shaini was shown differently in the film. Swathi's much talked film Kalavaramaaye Madilo had good music but the director Satish Kasetty was not able to come out of the hang-over of K. Viswanath's movies. The film generated a lot of pre-release interest but progressed towards being a flop from the day one. Meena's Vengamamba got a positive talk but that hasn't helped the film become a success. The same goes to debutant director Uday Bhaskar's Oohachitram. The film had good narration but it failed to make it because of near-zero publicity. The month ended with the much-awaited movie S.S. Rajamouli's Magadheera. The film opened with record openings and continued to be a blockbuster eventually. Other duds in this month include Raathri (directed by Challa Bhanukiran, casting Sayaji Shinde), Kshanamoka Yugam, Gangleaders (dubbed), Adugu (directed by Veeraprasad Neelam), Saamraajyam (directed by Veeru Dwaith, with Srihari, Suman, and Priyanka Kothari in the lead), Vyaapaari (dubbed) (directed by Shakti Chidambaram, starring S.J. Suryah, Tamannah, Namita, Malavika), Jagadekaveerudu (dubbed version of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince), Thootaa (dubbed) (directed by Selva, starring Jeevan, Priyamani), Udrekam (directed by Sumeet Roy Singh, casting Antara Biswas a.k.a. Mona Lisa, Krishnudu), and Jallu (directed by V.V. Narayana, starring Jayanth, Prithviraj).

 

Debutant directors of the month: Anand Ranga (Oye), Chinna (Aa Intlo), Uday Bhaskar (Oohachitram), V.V. Narayana (Jallu), Veeraprasad Neelam (Adugu)

 

Abroad BO: Oye was bought for sixty lakh rupees. The distributors were safe, but the exhibitors lost money. Gopi Gopika Godavari was bought for fifteen lakh rupees, but was a loss to everyone at the end. Kalavaramaaye Madilo, released by Adlabs, was a complete washout. Magadheera was brought for 1.6 crore rupees and made profits to everyone.

 

Blockbuster: Magadheera

Hit: Gopi Gopika Godavari

Average: Oye

[Bezawada Bebbuli]

August

 

August, with only 3 straight films releasing, saw the storm of Magadheera continue at the box-office, encroaching into other films' cash counters too. Among Snehituda..!, Anjaneyulu, and Life Style that were released, Snehituda..! had a good treatement but the film is a straight lift of Korean film Three Iron (except that Telugu audience wouldn't have liked a battered wife as the heroine, like in the original). The film flopped finally, despite the positive talk. Anjayaneyulu had nothing new to offer.The film is just a regular Raviteja film with all the masala and over-action. The film was overall okay at the BO. Life Style had good reviews and postive talk, but zero publicity affected the film very badly at BO. The film is a remake of the Tamil flick Five Star directed Susi Ganeshan of Mallanna. Two bilingual films, Adavi and Mallanna were released this month. Nithin's Hindi debut under the maverick director Ram Gopal Verma backfired miserably as the film Adavi had no takers and was a disaster right from the morning show. The over-hyped film Mallanna proved that too much of expectations were wasted on it and was a declared a flop, leaving a bitter taste for distributors who bought the film at extraordinary price.

 

Debutant directors of the month: Satyam Bellamkonda (Snehituda..!), Vishwa Prasad (Preminche Rojullo...)

 

Abroad BO: Magadheera captivated the BO in the month of August too, though it released in July. August had only two films release overseas, Anjaneyulu and Mallanna. Anjaneyulu was bought for a price of around sixty lakh rupees and ended as a loss to both distributors and exhibitors to some extent. Mallanna was bought by the distributor as a bilingual; the Telugu version was a disaster for the exhibitors though.

 

Average: Anjaneyulu

Super Duds: Mallanna, Adavi

[Bezawada Bebbuli]

September

 

Due to the sudden sad demise of the CM, Dr. Y.S. Rajashekar Reddy, many films such as Okkatavudaam, Kaluva, and Gaali Seenu, which were originally slated for release, were all postponed ...and they never saw light yet! Much-hyped, much-awaited debut of Nagarjuna's son Naga Chaitanya arrived little late. The film, Josh, was a washout due to bad screenplay and story. The film was unable to sustain audiences' interest after the release. Gopichand's Sankham was average overall in the box-office but proved the hero's stamina in garnering good openings all over. Kamal and Venky's much-talked remake film, Eenadu, flopped everywhere. Raja added one more flop in the form of Samarthudu. Nithin continued his flops series with Recchipo!. Ram came as Ganesh under debutant Sravan's direction, but the film ended up as the costliest dud for the reputed Sravanthi banner. Nara Rohit made his debut with the small film Baanam which won critical acclaim and appreciation to the debutant director. It made profit to the producers and exibitors as it was made in a shoestring budget.

 

Debutant directors of the month: Vasu Verma (Josh), Sravan (Ganesh), Chaitanya Dantuluri (Baanam), Chakri Toleti (Eenadu), Arjun Reddy (Samarthudu)

 

Abroad BO: Josh was bought for one crore rupees, made money to the distributors and even some exhibitors, thus ending up as an average abroad. Ganesh was bought for around sixty lakh rupees and was a complete washout. Baanam was distributed by the producers but lack of publicity and delayed release hampered the collections, resulting in the film's loss abroad. Eenadu was a flop overseas too.

 

Hit: Baanam

Super Duds: Josh, Recchipo!, Ganesh, Eenadu

[Bezawada Bebbuli]

October

 

October had 11 straight releases. The most talked films in this month are Mahatma and Ek Niranjan. Mahatma being directed by Krissnavamsi and it being Srikanth's 100th film, the film had a lot of expectations, but the result wasn't any great. sirivennela Seetharama Sastry's song on Mahatma Gandhi became more popular than the film itself! The film was over the budget like any other Krissnavamsi's film and and brought losses to everyone. Ek Niranjan got good openings but was unable to sustain the audiences' interest constantly, thus being a loss too. Puri, as a storywriter, had a little relief in the form of Bumper Offer. The film was made on a shoestring budget and was an average fare at the box-office, giving much-needed break to Puri's brother and the film's hero, Sairam Shankar. The film's music by Raghu Kunche played a major role in this success. October's big hit is the small film Bendu Apparao RMP. EVV's 49th film with his son Allari Naresh fared better than the other films. Siva Nageswara Rao's Ninnu Kalisaka.. had a good story line but bad narration spoiled the film. Naren Kondepati made his debut with Kalyan Ram's film Jayeebhava, which was a complete washout. Vittalacharya's classic, Jaganmohini, remade with Raja and Namitha in the lead bit the dust. Tamil hero Surya's Ghatikudu (dubbed from Aadavan) had a poor show in Telugu.

 

Debutant directors of the month: S.S. Kumar (Holidays), Manjoor (Nijamgaa Nuvve gurtukostunnavu), K.R. Rathnam (Nirnayam), N.K. Viswanatha (Jaganmohini), K. Lakshmanachari (Adbhuta Vaidyam Ayurvedam), Naren Kondepati (Jayeebhava), Jaya Ravindra (Bumper Offer)

 

Abroad BO: Mahatma was bought for 25 lakh rupees but ended up as a loss of about 20 lakh rupees to the distributor. The film didn't even enjoy decent openings abroad, leaving Krissnavamsi's name in cold. Ek Niranjan was bought for around 70 lakh rupees and incurred a loss of about 10-15 lakh rupees to the distributor and an overall loss of 25 % to the exhibitors. Jayeebhava was a complete washout overseas too. Bendu Apparao RMP had limited release and was an average fare at those theaters.

 

Duds: Mahatma, Ek Niranjan

Super Duds: Jayeebhava, Ghatikudu

[Bezawada Bebbuli]

November

 

6 straight films were released, with two sequels releasing for the first time in the same month. Village-lo Vinayakudu, which was done on a shoestring budget, tasted moderate success at the box-office. Arya-2 released amidst a lot of expectations as the sequel of the trendsetter film Arya coming from the same hero-music director-director combo. Many films were postponed as most of the theaters in the state were blocked for Arya-2. True to its hype, Arya-2 had bumper opening inspite of negetive reviews, but eventually collected record collections for Allu Arjun in the first week. From second week onwards, the turmoil in Andhra Pradesh made dent to its collections. On the whole, it collected good figures within those constraints and a safe project for producers. Srikanth's much delayed a.aa.i.ee (Athanu, Aame - Inthalo Eeme) was released finally and was a flop. Varun Sandesh's action plans went cold with the flop of Kurradu. Other disasters were Paraharella Vayasu and Edukodalavada, Venkataramana... Andaru Baagundaali. Despite prominent releases this month, the month's super hit film is, rather strangely, 2012, a film dubbed from English and created a box-office storm in Andhra Pradesh, setting new records at several centers!

 

Debutant directors of the month: Sandeep Gunnam (Kurradu), Surya Injamuri (Edukodalavada, Venkataramana... Andaru Baagundaali), Suryasri (Padaharella Vayasu).

 

Abroad BO: Arya-2, released with much fanfare, was real turkey in some centers, while it ended up an average flick in some centers like San Jose, Atlanta, etc. a.aa.i.ee (Athanu, Aame - Inthalo Eeme) was bought for five lakh rupees, but the film didn't even recover the print costs! Kurradu was bought for ten lakh rupees, but the film was also a disaster and was also not able to recover the prints costs. Village-lo Vinayakudu, bought at twenty lakh rupees, also followed suit.

 

Super Hit: 2012

Hit: Village-lo Vinayakudu

Duds: Kurradu

Good opener: Arya -2

[Bezawada Bebbuli]

December

 

Despite Telangana-Andhra clashes and political problems and bandhs which forced the postponement of some films' release, December had 10 straight films hitting the screen. Pravarakhyudu, which repeated the hit combination of Madan, Jagapathi Babu, and Priyamani, was an average fare at the box-office, while Allari Ravibabu's Amaravathi had disaster talk from the morning show due to excessive violence and a bad storyline. Rajamouli's disciple Kannan's Saaraayi Veerraju was a flop. Y.V.S. Chowdary's Saleem failed to make up for the lost image of the director in spite of Illeana's liberal midriff show and a huge budget to recover. Just Yellow's Katha was released but the collections have not yet started. Sairam Shankar's Vaade Kaavaali, which has been waiting to get to theaters for a long time since completion, is saying "audience kaavaali" ("audience wanted") and seems to going to be a disaster, like most other films of the hero.Puthrudu, Manmathulu, etc. were washout while Kaasko and Posani's Gentleman results are awaited as they are releasing only in the final leg of the month.

 

Debutant directors of the month: Srinivas Raga (Katha), Kannan (Saaraayi Veerraju), Velu Raja (Manmathulu), Rajendra Darshan (Vaade Kaavali)

 

Abroad BO: Pravarakhyudu, Amaravathi, Katha, and Saleem were released abroad. All these films were mostly released by the producers themselves, on a profit-sharing basis. Sadly, they didn't get any share out of the collections as there were zero profits.

 

Hit: Avatar

Average: Pravarakhyudu

Dud: Amaravathi

Super Dud: Saleem

[Simha Marni]

Kice hit enti? (ready2fight)

[K D No.1]

billaaaa hit aaaaaaaaaa

[jaytheking]

:lol2:

[Somu-NTR]

[pavanjps]

[Babu]

[Simha Marni]

Billa hit endo

[Revs]

gopi gopika godavari hitaaaaa

[Bezawada NTR]

[arun]

billaaaa hit aaaaaaaaaa

 

 

billa hit kakapoeina vaddiki manche peru thechipeettindhi

[Vamsi Krishna]

[Bommasani]

[Bommasani]

[Bommasani]

[Bommasani]

[Bommasani]