2007's Top Telugu Films So Far

The first half of the year saw quite a few Telugu releases but only a few emerged successful.
They are:

Adavari Matalaku Ardhale Verule (AMAV)

AMAV, the film with an interesting title, crossed 50 days and is cruising towards the 100 days mark.

Director Selvaraghavan's second Telugu film treads the mainstream path and is a good family entertainer. A typical love story, it does touch a chord in a few sequences. Lead pair Venkatesh and Trisha act brilliantly, enlivening and enhancing the movie. Though slow in the first half, it picks up steam in the second.

By portraying real characters in the joint family set-up, some rural imagery and some comedy with a huge dash of romance, Selvaraghavan ensured that AMAV caters to the urban and rural audience. A touch of freshness, and a realistic and authentic feel make sure audiences relate to the film, making it a winner.

Evaidaithe Naakenti

Dr Rajasekhar bought the remake rights of the Malayalam film Lion and added his own touch to come out with a socially relevant film. His research enabled him to not just write the screenplay and dialogues but also impart the 'realism' element.

A topical film, Evaidaithe Naakenti raises the issue of corruption, a deeply entrenched evil in society today. And Dr Rajasekhar, through his film, shows how to cleanse the system, albeit in a simplistic way.

Desamuduru

Expectations were high for Desamuduru as this Puri Jagannath-directed film was released a few months after the spectacular success of Pokiri. And although it may not have matched the hugely stupendous Pokiri, Desamuduru emerged as a hit.

Despite a wafer-thin story, Puri ensured he had certain elements for its success: an interesting screenplay, a hero in Allu Arjun with six-pack abs and sinewy muscles, a nubile, debutante heroine in Hansika Motwani, good action sequences and a new picturesque backdrop in Kulu Manali.

Allu Arjun, who played a TV journalist, was the talk of the town for his physique, and came up with a good show. Puri cast Hansika as a sanyasin. This Sankranti release was the first hit of the year.


In this effort, Rajasekhar was helped by his wife Jeevitha, who was not just his sounding board, but also helped out in the direction department. Therefore, the credits for direction are shared by Samudrala and Jeevitha.

Dhee

Director Sreenu Vaitla and actor Manchu Vishnu tasted success with this movie. Vaitla's earlier venture, Andharivadu with megastar Chiranjeevi, didn't do well, while Vishnu's films Game and Astram flopped.

Both finally made it with Dhee.

A story set against a gang-war backdrop, Dhee had a bit of everything: romance, action, and a brother-sister relationship.

Dhee had some good performances from the lead cast: Srihari (Genelia's brother, who plays the Don), Vishnu and Genelia. Sreenu Vaitla imparted some vitality and the rollicking comedy element played a great role in the success of the film.

Although the release of the movie was much delayed, Dhee seems to have gone down well with the audience.

Aata

Aata is slowly inching its way up on the success list.

Written off by most in the early days of its release as disappointing fare, Aata seems to be picking up the moolah now. This MS Raju produced and VN Aditya directed movie, like its title, is a game sans much of the emotion element. In fact, M S Raju wrote the screenplay of the movie too. A breezy entertainer, Aata had some real happenings making its way into the reel particularly the sms episode.

The main duo, Siddharth and Ileana, infused energy into the movie with their acting. The movie has quite a bit of songs where Ileana's glamour element comes through. The rural backdrop (for a part of the film) perhaps found favour with the audience in the smaller towns and villages.