It has been a good year until now for Telugu film industry (also known as Tollywood) with more than 50 films, including dubbed films, being released in the first few months of the year (till May). These films belong to different genres ranging from action to romantic comedy, family drama and thriller flicks.
While some films have achieved great success at the box office, others have tanked. Films with big stars including Mahesh Babu-Venkatesh's "Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu", Jr NTR's "Baadshah", Ram Charan Teja's "Naayak", Prabhas' "Mirchi", and Nithiin's "Gunde Jaari Gallanthayyinde" have done good business at the box office. All these films received good response even in overseas markets.
However, some of the most-expected films of big stars have bombed. For instance, Victory Venkatesh's "Shadow" was one of the eagerly-awaited films of 2013 as the actor was returning to the action genre after a long gap. But, the film failed to impress critics as well as moviegoers, due to lack of content. Ram Pothineni starrer "Ongole Gitta" and Siddharth's "Jabardasth" turned out to be box office disasters.
Nagarjuna's "Greeku Veerudu", which was released on 3 May, received lukewarm reviews from film critics. His son Naga Chaitanya's "Tadhaka" hit the theatres last week. It is yet to be seen if the film would be able to make good business.
While the Telugu film industry witnessed some big releases in the first quarter, many more films of big stars are lined up for release in the second half of the year.
Here is our list of top 10 most-awaited Telugu films of 2013:
Allu Arjun's Iddarammayilatho
After "Greeku Veerudu" and "Thadaka", this month's (May) biggest release would be Allu Arjun's "Iddarammayilatho". The film stars Amala Paul and Catherine Tresa in the female leads. The first look poster as well as the trailer of the film has already created a lot of buzz in film circles.
"Iddarammayilatho" is a romantic entertainer directed by Puri Jagannadh. The film is slated to release on 24 May.
Pawan Kalyan's Attarintiki Daredi
The shooting of Pawan Kalyan's "Attarintiki Daredi" is progressing at a brisk pace in Hyderabad and other places. Latest buzz is that the film crew would fly to Europe in June for canning the songs.
Samantha and Praneetha appear as female leads. Bollywood actor Boman Irani is playing a pivotal role. The film is being directed by Trivikram Srinivas. Music is composed by Dev Sri Prasad.
Jr NTR's Ramayya Vastavayya
After the supersuccess of "Baadshah", Jr NTR has shifted his focus to "Ramayya Vastavayya". The actor will reportedly be seen as a student leader in this action entertainer.
Samantha is the leading lady in the film. Shruti Haasan plays a vital role. "Ramayya Vastavayya" was expected to get released in August. But, latest buzz is that the film's makers are planning to release it on 27 September to coincide with the release of the actor's 2001-superhit film "Student No. 1".
"Ramayya Vastavayya" is directed by Harish Shankar of "Gabbar Singh" fame. The film's score is composed by S Thaman.
Mahesh Babu's Untitled film with Sukumar
Actor Mahesh Babu is currently busy shooting for Sukumar's untitled film. The actor will go shirtless for the first time flaunting his six pack abs. He has been undergoing training with world renowned trainer - Kris Gethin.
Kriti Sanon, a model, plays the female lead. The film's score is composed by Devi Sri Prasad.
Ram Charan Teja's Toofan
"Toofan" is the remake of the 1970s superhit bollywood film "Zanjeer" starring Amitabh Bachchan. The film is simulataneoulsy made in Hindi ("Zanjeer") as well as in Telugu ("Toofan"). "Zanjeer" marks the debut of Ram Charan Teja in Bollywood.
The actor plays the role of an angry young police officer in the film. Priyanka Chopra plays the female lead. The film is directed by Apoorva Lakhia. The film is tentativley scheduled to get released in June.
Ravi Teja's Balupu
Ravi Teja's "Balupu" is an action flick directed by Gopichand Malineni. Actresses Shruti Haasan and Anjali play the female leads in the film.
Latest buzz is that actress Lakshmi Rai will be seen doing a cameo in "Balupu". The film is expected to get released in June this year.
Rajinikanth's Vikrama Simha
Superstar Rajinikanth's most-awaited "Kochadaiyaan" (Tamil) will be dubbed in Telugu as "Vikrama Simha".
The film is claimed to be the first film to use state-of-art motion capturing techniques in 3D. The film's crew is currently busy with post-production work. Earlier, reports had emerged that the movie is set for a July release, though there is no official word on it.
The trailer of "Kochadaiyaan" is expected to be launched at the Cannes Film Festival held in France from 15 May to 26 May. The superstar is likely to attend the event. "Kochadaiyaan" is directed by Rajini's daughter Soundarya. Bollywood star Deepika Padukone plays the female lead. Oscar winner A R Rahman composes the music.
Ram Charan's "Yevadu"
Ram Charan Teja's "Yevadu" will be his third release this year. The first look teaser of the film, which was released on the eve of Ram Charan's birthday, has generated a lot of hype.
Shruthi Haasan and Amy Jackson are the female leads in this film. Allu Arjun and Kajal Aggarwal appear in special roles. The film is directed by Vamsi Paidipally of "Brundhavanam" fame. The film is likely to get released during Ram Charan's wedding anniversary, which happens to be on 14 June.
Nagarjuna's Bhai
The shooting of actor Nagarjuna's "Bhai" is currently taking place in Slovenia. Tweeting about his film's shoot as well as his son's flick "Thadaka", Nagarjuna said, "Almost finishing Bhai s shoot in beautifull Slovenia/missing all the thadaka back home/I am so very happy for chai and all our fans. godbless."
"Bhai" is an action cum comedy entertainer directed by Veerabhadram Chowdhary. The film is produced by Nag himself under the Annapurna Studios banner. Richa Gangopadhyay plays the female lead. Tamil actor Prasanna is making his debut with this flick. The film's scores are composed by Devi Sri Prasad.
Gopichand's Sahasam
Newly-wed Gopichand will have "Sahasam" as his first major release of this year. The official trailer of the film, which was launched last week, shows the actor featuring in the role of an ATM security guard.
"Sahasam" is an action-adventure film set in the backdrop of 1947 and is directed by Chandra Shekhar Yelti. The film revolves around a Shakthi Peetam (a place of worship) in Pakistan.
Actress Taapsee Pannu plays the female lead. The lead stars were last seen in 2011 release "Mogudu". Bollywood actor Shakti Kapoor dons the role of a villian.
Besides these 10 films, there is also Venkatesh-Ram Pothineni's "Garam Masala" which might get released by this year.
"Garam Masala" is the remake of Hindi film "Bol Bachchan" starring Ajay Devgn and Abhishek Bachchan.
Actress Anjali who was paired with Venkatesh in "Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu" will be seen sharing screen space with the actor again. Shazahn Padamsee will play the female lead for Ram. The film will be directed by Vijay Bhaskar of "Nuvvu Naku Nacchav" and "Malliswari" fame.
