Vanaparthy Ranganath
November 29, 2006

Sainikudu (30 Nov):
With two consecutive super hits to his credit, the prince of tollywood, Mahesh is all set to entertain telugu audience with his latest flick Sainikudu. Made under the prestigious Vyjayanthi movies banner headed by Ashwini Dutt, the movie is directed by Gunashekhar. Sainikudu is the third movie in the combo of Mahesh and Gunashekar after Okkadu and Arjun. Trisha pairs with Mahesh again after Athadu. Music for this movie is done by Harris Jeyaraj, his first combination with Mahesh. The music for this movie is already a chart topper and is mesmerizing the telugu folks all over the world. As per the grapevine, the story line of the movie is about a student leader who fights for his friends and society and overcomes evil elements in the society.

Plusses for this movie: Mahesh’s consistent form, Trisha, Excellent Music, Ashwini Dutt, Mahesh-Gunashekar combo
Minuses for this movie: Sky-high expectations, Heavy competition.

Khatarnak (14 Dec):
Raviteja comes in the form of Khatarnak after his successful ‘Vikramarkudu’ and a weak ‘Shock’. The movie is directed by dance-master turned director “Amma” Rajashekhar. It is his second directorial venture after his successful ‘Ranam’ with Gopichand. Tollywood’s lucky lass Ileana teams up with Raviteja for the first time. Incidentally this is her third movie after two successful super hits Devadasu and Pokiri. Keeravani is scoring movie for this movie, his second movie with Raviteja in this year. Bhogavally Prasad produces this movie after his successful Chatrapathi last year. The story line is believed to be the transformation of a reckless-carefree youngster who deals with the evils of the society and wins his ladylove.

Plusses for this movie: Minimum guarantee of Raviteja’s films, Keeravani’s music, Ileana’s glamour hawa in Tollywood.
Minuses for this movie: Relatively New Director (with the added 2nd movie sentiment of successful first movie director), Heavy Competition.

Rakhi (22 Dec):
The synonym for ‘mass mannerisms’ among youth heroes, Jr NTR, comes to captivate the tollywood audience with his latest flick “Rakhi”. NTR teams up with creative director Krishna Vamshi for the first time with this movie. Tollywood’s latest sensation Ileana teams up with NTR for the first time. Incidentally this is her second movie in this month along with Khatarnak. Charmee is the second heroine in the movie. The movie is made under the prestigious Durga Arts banner. Devisri Prasad provides music for this movie. The story is believed to be the reaction of a brother for the injustice done to his sister.

Plusses for this movie: NTR’s terrific mass appeal, Ileana’s charm, Krishna vamshi’s creativity, Durga Arts banner
Minuses for this movie: NTR/Krishnavamshi’s inconsistent form, Heavy competition

Annavaram (29 Dec):
Pavan Kalyan comes to enthrall the telugu audience with his latest film “Annavaram”. Pavan teams up with Bheemaneni Srinivasa rao after a gap of 8 years. This movie is their second movie after their successful ‘Suswagatham’. Asin pairs with the power star for the first time while ‘Premisthe’ fame Sandhya acts as his sibling. Abburi Ravi of ‘Bommarillu’ fame provides dialogues for the movie. The movie is made under Megasupergood films banner and is presented by R.B.Chowdary. Ramana Gogula teams up with Pavan for the fourth time after Thammudu, Badri & Johnny. He is believed to have burnt a lot of midnight oil for his favorite star and is supposed to have come up with some exciting tunes. The story is believed to be a loving brother’s boon (and hence Anna-varam) to his sister for her well being and is supposed to have good sister sentiment.

Plusses for this movie: Pavan’s box-office stamina power, Pavan’s success rate with remakes, Pavan-Bheemaneni combo, Pavan-Ramana gogula combo.
Minuses for this movie: Lack of hits for Pavan in the recent past, Heavy competition

The above four movies are all releasing in December and will surely try to compete with each other in all aspects. Irrespective of the movie budget, it is rumored that all the above movies combined have been sold for an astronomical amount of close to100 crores. Now whose movie will the Telugu audience accept and whose movie will they reject? Who will be crowned the winner of December 2006 and who will enter the New Year with a smile on their face? Whose movie will give a tough competition to Sankranthi movies like Yogi, Desamuduru and Maharathi? Whose fans will go gaga admiring their favorite hero/heroine? Stay tuned to your favorite Telugu movie portal idlebrain.com for the exciting coverage of all the above four movies. Idlebrain.com wishes all the best to the cast, crew, distributors, exhibitors and fans of all the above four movies.

- Vanaparthy Ranganath