No. of Telugu films released in 2011: 118
No. of dubbed movies released in 2011: 120
Biggest hit: Dookudu
Blockbusters: Mr. Perfect , Kandireega
Hits: Alaa Modalaindi , Mirapakaay , 100% Love , Rangam , Naa Peru Siva, Kanchana
Average: Gaganam , Jai Bolo Telagana , Aha Naa Pellanta! , Seema Tapakaay, Pilla Jamindar, Nuvvilaa
Critics' Choice: Sreerama Rajyam & Rajanna

2011 in Review

Telugu Cinema of 2011 had more dubbed films than straight films! In fact, dubbed films have been sustaining regular theaters more than straight films could. As straight Telugu films fall into the rut of churning out numerous versions of the age-old revenge formula with high production costs, Dubbed films that offered variety took over the box-office. Any hero who comes from a lineage of stars has been charging a remuneration of Rs 3-4 Crores per film regardless of one's acting capabilities, only to deliver damp squibs at the box-office!

Small-time heroes do not get to work with big directors, as all popular directors choose to work for a maximum of one or two films a year ...if at all working! Thus, all popular directors have their plates full for the next 2-3 years without any assurance of which project might ever go to sets! Adding salt to wounds is the piracy issue that has been threatening the film industry! Above all these, the sociopolitical situation in the state has also taken a toll on films this year.

Dubbed movies: More hungama, little success!

While the number of dubbed films is considerably high, only very few films really made a mark at the box-office. While K.V. Anand's directorial venture Rangam enjoyed a 100-day run, Karthi's Naa Peru Siva became a hit, Surya's 7th Sense with Murugadoss was a flop; Santhosh Shivan's Urumi with Genelia, Murugadoss's production Journey with Sharwanand, Allari Naresh-starrer Sangharshana, and Prema Khaidi were appreciated and the rest of the dubbed films failed to make an impact. Among the dubbed film heroes, Kaarthi and Jeeva made inroads into B and C centers too with their hit films while Surya and Genelia could garner openings due to their established following. It's notable that two of the dubbed films were made with Telugu heroes - it's good to see our heroes enter other languages.

Telugu heroes testing new waters

While Allu Arjun has been enjoying a good market in Malayalam films, other young Telugu heroes such as Allari Naresh, Sharwanand, Navadeep, and Nani have continued to become a part of the Tamil film industry also. Mahesh Babu's Businessman would mark his debut into Tamil and Malayalam in January 2012, while Ram Charan plans to debut into Bollywood next year; RaNa who acted in Hindi already has more plans in Bollywood and even Kollywood (Tamil film industry) next year.

Cinema and Crime!

Film personalities have been in news for wrong reasons this year, with actors Bharat and Raghu (Raviteja's brothers) being arrested for drugs and their father arrested for gambling. Budding heroes Navdeep and Nikhil were caught for driving under influence (after alcohol consumption). Producers Singanamala Ramesh and C. Kalyan were accused of being involved in land mafia and more.

Celebs who are no more

There have been many deaths in the film industry this year. The list of people who left us this year includes the popular writer/film-writer Sree Mullapudi Venkataramana, veteran character artiste and writer Mikkilineni Radhakrishnamurthy, director/producer E.V.V. Satyanarayana, yesteryear heroine and character artiste Sujatha, an actor with a distinct voice and dialogue delivery Nutan Prasad, popular villain Ankusham Ramireddy, Gamyam fame writer Gandham Nagaraju, Gamyam music director Anil, dance master Salim who choreographed three chief ministers (NTR, MGR, and Jayalalithaa), lyricists Jaladi and Kaluva Krishna Sai, producer Dasari Padma who's the wife of Dasari Narayana Rao, director V.R. Prathap of Nuvvu Vastaavani..., lyricist/producer M.S. Reddy, and the veteran writer Tripuraneni Maharadhi who is known for his dialogues in films like Kanchu Kota and Alluri Seetharama Raju. Chitra's daughter Nandana, director Teja's younger son Aaroh, Akkineni Nageswara Rao's wife Smt.Annapurna and Ilayaraja's wife Jeeva also passed away in 2011.

Moving through the months

January has 11 straight films and 6 dubbed films, with five movies released during the Sankranthi festive season: Parama Veera Chakra, Mirapakaay, Anaganagaa Oka Dheerudu, Spandana, and Golconda High School. There was not much hope on Dasari's Parama Veera Chakra with Balakrishna and it was a total washout like many Balakrishna-starrer before Simha and like Dasari's Young India. Raviteja-Harish Shankar's Mirapakaay worked as there was no competitor in its genre, though it was not a great film! The film thus became a clear Sankranthi winner at the box-office.

Anaganagaa Oka Dheerudu was made by K. Surya Prakash, the son of veteran director K. Raghavendra Rao, produced in a tieup with Disney, Inc. The film however failed because of miscasting and due to unimpressive scenes that reminded of several films of the past. However, Mohan Babu's daughter Lakshmi Prasanna was appreciated for her performance in the movie. A small film Alaa Modalaindi was released after a week of Sankranthi with not much publicity and became a super hit with quite a positive talk. The film was made with under 3.5 crore rupees and collected 18-20 crore rupees at the box-office. Gopichand's Wanted was not wanted by audience and it failed at the BO.

Super hit: Alaa Modalaindi (Based on the cost of production and revenue)
Hit: Mirapakaay
Disappointment: Anaganagaa Oka Dheerudu

February had equal number of straight and dubbed films: 9 each. N. Shankar's Jai Bolo Telangana became an average fare. Gaganam, a different film for Nagarjuna, ended up as a break-even as it was made as a bilingual (Telugu & Tamil). Manchu Vishnu's Vastaadu Naa Raaju was a disaster, and so was the much-publicized Katha, Screenplay, Darsakatvam Appalraju. Praveen Sattaru's LBW generated some buzz but ended up as a flop. Saikumar's son Adi's debut film Prema Kaavaali registered an above average result at the BO. Other washouts in this month include Varun Sandesh's Kudirithe Cup-pu Coffee, Rajendra Prasad's Bhale Mogudu-Bhale Pellaam, and Gautam Menon's Erra Gulabeelu.

Average: Gaganam, Jai Bolo Telangana
Disaster: Appalraju