Telugu cinema isn’t done with its ambitious films vying for the national box office. Not yet. 2024 will see a handful of big budget films headlined by A-list stars. The sequel to director Sukumar and Allu Arjun’s Pushpa and the science fiction film Kalki 2898 AD directed by Nag Ashwin, led by Prabhas, will be among the significant releases this year, along with director Shankar’s Game Changer starring Ram Charan, NTR’s Devara directed by Koratala Shiva and Sujeeth’s OG starring Pawan Kalyan.
Mid-January will witness four star-led films during the Sankranti season, beginning with Mahesh Babu’s Guntur Kaaram directed by Trivikram Srinivas and director Prasanth Varma’s superhero film HanuMan on January 12. The Sankranti festive season is considered one of the best times to release films owing to the holiday period during the harvest season when movie watching is part of the cultural ethos. Also throwing their hats in the Sankranti ring are director Sailesh Kolanu’s Saindhav starring Venkatesh and Karthik Gattamaneni’s Eagle starring Ravi Teja on January 13 and Akkineni Nagarjuna’s rural entertainer Naa Saami Ranga directed by Vijay Binni on January 14.
Tillu Square, the sequel to the comedy DJ Tillu, Vishwak Sen’s Gangs of Godavari and Varun Tej’s Operation Valentine will arrive in February. Vijay Deverakonda and Mrunal Thakur’s Family Star, directed by Parasuram, had originally planned as a Sankranti release and is yet to announce its new release date.
A few high profile films that are either underway or to be formally launched include Prashanth Neel’s film starring NTR, Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Spirit with Prabhas, SS Rajamouli’s film with Mahesh Babu and director Trivikram Srinivas’ film with Allu Arjun. Chiranjeevi’s 156th film directed by Vasshista, said to be a fantasy entertainer, and Nandamuri Balakrishna’s 109th film, which will be directed by Bobby, are also in the fray.
G2, the sequel to the action thriller Goodachari starring Adivi Sesh and Banita Sandhu, directed by Vinay Kumar Sirigineedi. Shaneil Deo, who was the cinematographer for Kshanam and Goodachari, will make his debut with the action drama Dacoit produced by Surpriya Yarlagadda, starring Adivi Sesh and Shruti Haasan.
Besideds these big entertainers, there are bound to be several small surprises from new and emerging directors tapping into local narratives.
Here are some of the big films releasing this year:
Guntur Kaaram
One of the prominent releases for the Sankranti festive season, Guntur Kaaram, brings back the combination of writer-director Trivikram Srinivas and Mahesh Babu, long after Khaleja (2010). The mass action entertainer releasing on January 12 stars Sreeleela and Meenakshi Chaudhary as the female leads and also stars Ramya Krishna and Jagapathi Babu, with music by S Thaman. Mahesh has tasted massive success with Sankranti releases in the earlier years with films such as Businessman, Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu and Sarileru Neekevvaru.
Kalki 2898 AD
All eyes are on this dystopian science fiction film written and directed by Nag Ashwin, starring Prabhas, Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan and Disha Patani, with music by Santosh Narayanan. This will be Nag Ashwin’s third film to be produced by Vyjayanthi Films following Yevade Subramanyam and the Savithri biopic Mahanti and has generated anticipation for its title that draws from the 10 avatars of Vishnu, and the film’s glimpse indicated use of futuristic weapons.
Pushpa 2: The Rule
In the sequel to director Sukumar’s Pushpa: The Rise, Allu Arjun as Pushparaj will look to consolidate his position and take on police officer Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat, played by Fahadh Faasil. The sequel, titled Pushpa: The Rule, starring Rashmika Mandanna, Anasuya Bharadwaj and Jagapathi Babu, with music by Devi Sri Prasad, is expected to be bigger and better than the first film that fetched Allu Arjun the National Award for Best Actor. Pushpa: The Rule is scheduled to release on August 15.
OG
The first video glimpse of director Sujeeth’s film with Pawan Kalyan, OG aka They Call him OG, generated ample buzz for its slick visuals and background score. The film staring Pawan Kalyan as a gangster in Mumbai, has Emraan Hashmi making his debut in Telugu as an antagonist. Also starring Priyanka Arul Mohan, Arjun Das, Sriya Reddy and Prakash Raj, this film will be cinematographer Ravi K Chandran’s second collaboration with Pawan Kalyan after Bheemla Nayak. Meanwhile, Pawan Kalyan is also working on director Harish Shankar’s Ustaad Bhagat Singh and Hari Hara Veera Mallu directed by Krish Jagarlamudi.
Game Changer
This will be director Shankar’s first Telugu film and is said to be a political action thriller. Shankar has written the screenplay for Karthik Subbaraj’s story. Game Changer is Ram Charan’s 15th film and stars Kiara Advani as the female lead. This is also the first time that Shankar is working with music composer S Thaman; all his previous directorial projects had on board music composer A R Rahman. Game Changer is expected to arrive in September.
Devara
The first part of director Koratala Siva’s film starring NTR is expected to arrive in theatres on April 5, and will launch Janhvi Kapoor in Telugu. Saif Ali Khan plays the antagonist. The film with music by Anirudh Ravichander, cinematography by Rathnavelu and production design by Sabu Cyril has on board editor Sreekar Prasad and action choreographer Kenny Bates. Devara will feature an extended underwater action sequence.
Thandel
Director Chandoo Mondeti, who delivered a massive hit in the form of Karthikeya 2, spearheads Thandel, which will unravel in a seaside location. The coming together of Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi after Love Story has generated anticipation for this film presented by Allu Aravind and produced by Bunny Vasu. Chaitanya has worked with Chandoo Mondeti earlier for Premam and Savyasachi.
Saripodhaa Sanivaaram
This will be director Vivek Athreya’s first brush with the action entertainment genre and stars Nani and Priyanka Arul Mohan. Teaming up after the rom-com Ante Sundaraniki, Vivek and Nani are exploring a vigilante drama in which SJ Suryah plays the antagonist. Produced by DVV Danayya who earlier backed RRR, Saripodhaa Sanivaaram is a Jakes Bejoy musical.
