The return of the prodigal
Despite delivering many superhits like Aadi, Simhadri, Yamadonga, Adhurs, and Brindavanam, NTR Jr was yet to break into the elite Rs 40 crore club of Tollywood. Before Baadshah released, only Pawan Kalyan (Gabbar Singh and CGR), Mahesh Babu (Dookudu and Businessman) and Ram Charan (Magadheera and Racha) had the credit of having films that grossed over Rs 40 crore at the BO. With Baadshah, NTR Jr finally broke the jinx.
Director Srinu Vaitla reckons it was just a matter of finding the right script. "There can be little doubt about Tarak's revenue generating potential and acting prowess. So I focused on getting the script and his character right, and that's what did the trick. It was a character with multiple variations — a lover boy, don, wedding planner all rolled into one. I designed everything to suit my style and sensibilities and tried to present him in a new stylised avatar and the results are there for everybody to see," quips Srinu.
Rebel Star strikes back
Prabhas' case was similar. While his popularity and star appeal was never in doubt, the Rebel Star was also persona no grata in the Rs 40 crore club of Tollywood. The strapping actor, many believed, was one blockbuster away from stalking claim to superstardom. With Mirchi, the actor managed to achieve both feats in one go. Writer-turned-director Koratala Siva managed to pull off the feat by fashioning the movie in such a way that it appealed to both the mass and class audiences. "I wanted to make a class connect to the otherwise massy revenge drama. I was very confident from the outset and I'm happy that it worked, but the credit goes to the entire team," explains Koratala Siva.
Turning the clock back
Ravi Teja's films were once tagged 'minimum guarantee' because despite the small budgets, his movies would invariably assure safe returns. But post the success of Mirapakay, the actor's fortunes at the BO nosedived with seven flops in a row. Incidentally, it was Gopichand Malineni (who directed Mirapakay) who helped resurrect Ravi Teja's fledgling fortunes and he did so by turning the clock back, literally. "I just wanted to showcase Ravi Teja in his elements, as we all love him. As such, we changed his look, characterisation and even penned a few unique one-liners, and that was all that was needed," quips Gopichand Malineni.
Sticking to strengths
Sometimes, success is just a matter of sticking to your strengths and actor Nithiin realised it the hard way. After nearly a decade long stretch of "flop mass films", the soft spoken actor tasted success with the romantic entertainer, Ishq. "After the success of Ishq, I realised that rom-coms suit me more than hardcore action films which I did before. The success of Gunde Jari Gallanthayyinde proves that yet again, crossing Ishq's gross collections within just 10 days of release," quips Nithiin. Gunde Jaari Gallanthayyinde has turned out to be the highest grosser for Nithin, crossing the Rs25 crore mark besides becoming a huge hit overseas as well.
No more next Ravi Teja
Nikhil Siddhartha, who shot to prominence with Sekhar Kammula's Happy Days, and earned notoriety playing 'the next Ravi Teja' in mass films like Yuvatha and Veedu Theda, was admittedly surprised with the success of crime comedy, Swamy Ra Ra, his biggest hit. He's learnt the benefits of experimenting with this movie. "We never expected the movie to be such a big hit. What's even more gratifying is that I consciously tried to do something really different. I realised it's important to keep trying out new stuff," says Nikhil, who finally shook off the 'next Ravi Teja' moniker.
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