Tollywood had a perfect lineup of films gearing up for summer release. With the arrival of second wave of coronavirus, all the plans are now shattered. Some of the films are now out of the summer race though there is no official confirmation. The makers of these films already informed the distributors about the same. Vakeel Saab is currently running with packed houses and the box-office run of the film in the second week is unpredictable as the cases are increasing in the Telugu states. The governments too are in plans to impose restrictions to have a control on the coronavirus spike.

Love Story is postponed for now and the makers of Tuck Jagadish are yet to take the final call. The entire Tollywood is now focused on the restrictions that would be announced by the governments. If the night curfew is imposed, it would be tough to screen four shows all over. Even the 50 percent occupancy rule would be manageable as there are ample number of screens available. But if the night curfews are implemented, the box-office numbers would be low because of the limited shows. The filmmakers as of now are waiting for the rules to be announced. As per the speculations, Chiranjeevi’s Acharya, Balakrishna and Boyapati film, Venkatesh’s Naarappa, Rana Daggubati’s Viraata Parvam are out of summer race.

Tollywood is left delighted with the response from the audience for the Sankranthi releases. The audience rushed to theatres to watch the films and all the films except Alludu Adhurs will end up in profits for the makers and the distributors. Most of the biggies are slated for summer release this year. With the theatres shut for eight months, the exhibitors are back to business and are delighted with the response in this season.

But February and March are quite crucial for the exhibition sector as the theatres should continue to screen films. To revive the business and return back to the good olden days, there should be ample number of films that should release during February and March. The exhibitors should settle financially well to prepare for the big summer 2021 season. Some of the renowned films should have their release during the season so that the theatres would screen films and generate revenues.

To bet big in summer, the exhibitors should stay in business in the next two months. Some of the filmmakers who wanted to head for a digital release are now making their minds for a theatrical release for their films. Uppena, Zombie Reddy are hitting the screens in February. A bunch of small films too will test their luck as they would get ample number of screens in the season.

Ravi Teja’s recent movie Krack is running towards becoming a blockbuster. As Ravi Teja tasted success after several flops, with the role of police officer, many movie analysts as well as audiences are wondering whether police officer role is the favourite role for Tollywood heroes when they want to comeback into track from the streak of flops. Details as below.

Police roles and comeback movies:

Pawan Kalyan, started a series of flop movies with Johnny in 2003. He faced flop after a flop for almost a decade until Gabbar Singh released in 2012, the movie in which he played police officer, lifted him out of those flops. Even though there were some average movies during that decade, it was Gabbar Singh that have him a genuine break.

The same goes with Mahesh Babu, who faced series of flops between 2006 and 2012 and he didn’t have a hit after Pokiri as he started series of flops with Sainikudu. It was Dookudu, in which he played the role of police officer , that brought him his past glory again.

Even Jr NTR also has tasted the similar experience. In his own words, he faced flops for one ‘Pushkaram’ I.e 12 years after Simhadri. It is ‘Temper’ movie in which he played as police officer, pulled him out of the flops. Most recently Ravi Teja also tasted success after four long years of failures with Krack movie, in which he too played police role.

But it is not always true:

As there are several examples like this in Tollywood, there’s an opinion among the makers as well Tollywood heroes that, police role is perfect r pole for comebacks. However, it is only partially true. There are several movies in which heroes played as police officers and yet faced another failure. For example, Pawan Kalyan’s much hyped Puli movie failed to pull him out of the flops. Even Ravi Teja’s flop movie “Touch Chesi Choodu” also has him in police officer role. Several other heroes like Rajasekhar etc have played roles of police officers in movies like Kalki and yet couldn’t end the streak of flops.

So, the key is:

The key seems to be right mix of entertainment and mass elements. Gabbar Singh, Temper, Dookudu and Krack have ample entertainment which was missing in movies like Puli and touch chesi choodu. As the police officer role has ample scope for action and mass elevations, if it is properly mixed with right dose of entertainment, the movie is bound to entertain wide range of audience provided it has some decent story line.

After the attack of the coronavirus pandemic, the entire film industry is shut. The shootings across the country resumed from October last year but none of the actors and filmmakers risked out for theatrical releases and most of them headed for a digital release. Tollywood is the only film industry that is now completely open and has a series of films lined up for release. Bollywood is still entirely shut and the exhibitors are screening the dubbing films from Telugu and Tamil to run the screens.

After the super success of Solo Brathuke So Better, Ravi Teja’s Krack created a splash across Telugu states. The film received positive response and the footfalls have been remarkable. Ram’s RED, Bellamkonda Sreenivas’ Alludu Adhurs are the straight Telugu films that will release during the season. The Tollywood audience are also getting ready to welcome Vijay’s upcoming movie Master and the advance sales are very good. Bollywood filmmakers are looking towards Tollywood and they are amazed with the footfalls, response the Telugu films are receiving. With the happenings in Tollywood, several other industries are expected to reopen soon.

Tamil film industry is opening with Vijay’s Master and Simbu’s Eeswaran too is gearing up for Sankranthi release.

After their current projects ending up as blockbusters and money-spinners, several filmmakers and actors love to cash the craze by working on the sequels. The success rate for the sequels is quite low as the expectations are huge. Tollywood entered into 2021 and here are six sequels that the Tollywood audience are eagerly waiting for:

KGF: Chapter 2: KGF: Chapter 1 is a sensation across the country and the sequel for the film is currently on. The shoot of KGF: Chapter 2 is wrapped up and the film is aimed for summer release in all the Indian languages. KGF: Chapter 2 features Yash, Srinidhi Shetty, Sanjay Dutt and Raveena Tandon in the lead roles. Prashanth Neel is the director and Hombale Films are the producers.

F3: Victory Venkatesh and Varun Tej are back to thrill the audience with their comic timing with F3. Successful director Anil Ravipudi is directing F3 and the film is aimed for summer release. The film is carrying huge expectations and Anil Ravipudi already hinted that the film will have a double dose of entertainment in the sequel. Dil Raju is the producer.

Goodachari 2: Adivi Sesh is one actor who delivered consistent hits with thrillers in the recent years. After the super success of Goodachari, the sequel for the film is on and is titled Goodachari 2. Rahul Pakala will direct the sequel which will be made on a big-budget and will be shot extensively in various countries. Adivi Sesh joins the sets of Goodachari 2 after he is done with the shoot of Major.

HIT: The Second Case: Natural Star Nani produced a content-based interesting film HIT and the film raked decent money at the box-office. The sequel for the film is on and it would be directed by Sailesh Kolanu. Adivi Sesh will replace Vishwak Sen in the sequel which will roll this year. Nani’s Wallposter Cinema will produce the sequel too which is aimed for Christmas 2021 release.

Karthikeya 2: Nikhil tasted a super hit with Karthikeya and after years, the sequel for Karthikeya is launched. The film would be made on a massive budget and will be extensively shot abroad. Chandu Mondeti is the director and People Media Factory are on board to bankroll the sequel. Nikhil plays the role of a medico in the sequel too and Anupama Parameshwaran is on the board as the leading lady.

D and D: After 13 years, the sequel for D is announced and it is titled D and D. Srinu Vaitla who is struggling for success will helm the project and Manchu Vishnu will reprise the role and he would produce the comic entertainer on 24 Frames Factory banner. The project starts rolling very soon and will release this year. Srinu Vaitla took ample time to work on the script and he is super confident on his comeback with D and D.

2020 started with a bang in Tollywood and the biggies Sarileru Neekevvaru, Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo proved the stamina of Telugu films. The movies raked record money and ended up as huge money-spinners. All the actors and filmmakers are completely delighted with the performance of these films and predicted 2020 to be an exceptional year for Telugu cinema. Though a series of flops released post Sankranthi, Bheeshma and HIT made remarkable money in February. The theatres are shut since March and the shoots of all the films are put on hold.

2020 is completely wasted for Tollywood and the producers are left in huge financial stress because of the heaped up interests and delayed film releases. Despite of several attempts, most of the actors and actresses never reduced their paycheques. The exhibition industry is completely shattered and it takes years for them to return back to the track. Though some of the filmmakers are heading to release their films, there would be no support from the distributors for the next few months. Most of the risk lands completely on the producers.

On the whole, 2020 is a year that is utterly disappointing and wasted in the calendar of Telugu cinema.

The governments of both the Telugu states granted permission to reopen the theatres but the process doesn’t seem to be a smooth sail. There are several issues to be discussed before reopening the theatres after the attack of coronavirus pandemic. The government granted 50 percent occupancy rule which may not turn out to be profitable for everyone. Most of the filmmakers decided to wait for some more time to release their films.

All is not well between the producers and the exhibitors. Though a series of meetings took place recently, some of the issues are yet to be resolved. The exhibitors are not ready to share the VPF charges with the producers which range between Rs 2-5 per ticket. The VPF charges are collected by the theatres and the producers are demanding half of the share from the charges. A resolution is pending even after several sets of discussions.

Sai Dharam Tej’s Solo Brathuke So Better is announced for December 25th release. Hope the issues are resolved before the film hits the screens. There are talks that the single screens are expected to start screening films from December 18th if the demands are met.

There is no clarity on the Sankranthi releases though the permissions to reopen the theatres are given. Vakeel Saab, RED, Krack and Uppena are in the race as of now. With 50 percent occupancy, the filmmakers are hesitant to release these films for Sankranthi and there are a lot of speculations about the same. Several distributors are now mounting pressure on the producers to release these films to save the film industry. It has been over eight months since the theatres are shut and they are in deep financial crisis. Missing the Sankranthi festival season would double their stress.

The distributors are requesting the filmmakers to release the films at any cost for Sankranthi even if the 100 percent occupancy is not given. There is a chance to hike the ticket prices and the theatres can screen extra shows so that they can rake money during the season argued a top distributor. It would make no difference if there is a cap to increase the prices and for 50 percent occupancy, the theatre rents would remain low. Hence screening big films during the festival season would help the film industry and especially the exhibition industry. The producers are expected to take the final call soon.

The theatres across the Telugu states are all set to entertain the audience from December 11th. The multiplexes are open from today and will screen old films along with the Hollywood movie Tenet. Sai Dharam Tej’s Solo Brathuke So Better is the only new film that is announced for December release. This year after the closure of theatres, movies like V, Penguin, Orey Bujjiga, Miss India, Bhanumathi Ramakrishna, Krishna and his Leela and other films released on digital platforms.

Now, most of these films will also have a theatrical release. All the streaming platforms which are holding the rights decided to release the films in theatres to mint money. Raj Tarun’s Orey Bujjiga is announced for January 1st 2021 release. Nani’s V will soon release in theatres and the date would be announced soon. A chart of new release dates is expected next week. Tollywood is now focused on the footfalls in December to announce the list of Sankranthi releases.