From Sarileru Neekevvaru to HIT, these 5 Telugu films packed a punch in 2020

In the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, all shootings in the Telugu film industry have come to a standstill and the release dates have been postponed. Along with shopping malls and recreational places, theaters have also been shut down all across the country and celebrities are busy making the most of their free time at home. Meanwhile, Tollywood has already witnessed quite a few new releases in 2020 from January to the second week of March.

Though the Sankranthi season kicked-off with the back-to-back blockbusters of Sarileru Neekevvaru and Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, a queue of big-ticket films like Disco Raja, Jaanu and World Famous Lover failed to strike the right chord with the Telugu audience. Check out the five successful films which packed a punch in 2020.

After the back-to-back successes of Bharat Ane Nenu and Maharshi, Mahesh Babu scored a hat trick with Sarileru Neekevvaru. Released on the occasion of Sankranthi, the Anil Ravipudi directorial garnered a thunderous response from both the masses and family audience with a worldwide gross of over Rs 200 crore in less than two weeks. Along with Mahesh’s power-packed performance and Rashmika Mandanna’s antics, the hilarious comedy and the foot-tapping ‘Mind Block’ has created a rage in the theaters. For the first time in recent years, the 44-year-old actor has stunned the viewers’ with his terrific dance moves in Mind Block song.

Stylish star Allu Arjun’s recent outing Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo scored a monstrous success at the global box-office. After surpassing all the non-Baahubali records in the Telugu states, the family entertainer has accumulated a worldwide share of over 132 crore in its theatrical run. Besides emerging as the 8th south Indian film to cross $3 million in the United States, the Trivikram Srinivas directorial sealed a place in the top 5 highest-grossing Telugu films of all time. Besides the lead pair, Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo features an ensemble star cast like Sushanth, Nivetha Pethuraj, Tabu, Murali Sharma, Navdeep, Jayaram, Samuthirakani, Rajendra Prasad, Rahul Ramakrishna, Vennela Kishore, Brahmaji and Sunil. The story of the film revolves around a man who swaps his new-born son with a baby born to a wealthy family.

Upon release on January 31, Naga Shaurya’s Aswathama managed to bag glowing praises from both the critics and general audience owing to its edge-of-the-seat narration, high-octane action episodes, solid emotions, terrific background score and a prevailing problem concerning women’s safety. Along with Bengali actor Jisshu Sengupta, Shaurya did a commendable job in the mystery-thriller. Starring Mehreen Pirzada as the leading lady, the film is directed by debutante Ramana Teja.

After a streak of flops, Nithiin has finally scored a super hit with his recent release Bheeshma. Starring the ravishing Rashmika Mandanna as the leading lady, the comedy actioner enjoyed a solid run at the box-office with unanimously positive reviews from both the common folks and critics. Besides packing the film with plenty of laughs, director Venky Kudumula managed to keep the proceedings relevant with its discourse on organic farming. While Vennela Kishore and Raghu Babu brought the house down with their impeccable comedy timing, popular Kannada actor Anant Nag delivered a matured performance as a kind-hearted agricultural scientist. If not for corona scare, Bheeshma could have collected more in the Telugu states.

Released amid decent expectations, Vishwak Sen and Ruhani Sharma’s HIT has performed reasonably well at the box-office. If not for the coronavirus outbreak, the moody suspense thriller which garnered rave reviews from critics could have raked in more moolah at the ticket counters. Along with the impressive performance of the Falaknuma Das actor, director Sailesh Kolanu’s riveting narration, V Manikandan’s brilliant cinematography and the pulsating background score by Vivek Sagar have helped HIT to emerge as a well-constructed thriller.