At a time when Netflix is breaking ground in India with Sacred Games , Telugu cinema has quietly climbed to a different phase of evolution as well. The evolution that took a long time in coming, is now gathering plenty of mass in the form of well-made and meaningful movies.
More importantly, these films with fresh stories are also raking in the moolah at the box office. A biopic-cum-period film in the form of Mahanati set the cash registers ringing. A gritty, relatively de-glam Rangasthalam had records tumbling and the subtle, soothingly understated Sammohanam garnered praise and monies as well. The most refreshing of these was a buddy-movie, Ee Nagaraaniki Emaindi, of whose ilk, Telugu cinema has very few offerings to boast of. It may be a while before we could have our own Dil Chahta Hai or Zindagi Milegi na Dobara , where beautifully-scripted characters, battle interesting conflicts and are not reduced to grey silhouettes. But for now, commercial success of experimental cinema could translate to better budgets and more multiplexes.
One man who is chuffed about this coming of age of Telugu cinema is the suave and outspoken Rahul Ravindran, who was part of Ala Ela , a runaway hit and another rare Telugu buddy-movie. From an actor’s perspective, he says , “I really loved the process of doing Ala Ela and the concept of sharing screen space with two other guys; the chemistry of these three characters was the central point of the film. Kishore continues to be my best friend even till date.”
Reasons aplenty
Why do we see so few Telugu buddy movies? Rahul analyses that Telugu cinema tends to blend in a little bit of all genres. “We weren’t making genre-specific films until half a decade ago. The neo-noir, genre-specific scripts came through after Swamy Ra Ra . An urban buddy movie is a niche genre and while it works for Bollywood because of the vast number of multiplexes they have, regional languages do not get more than 30 to 35 multiplexes, and revenue streams are limited. However, now A-centres are becoming robust revenue streams and hence, we will see more buddy movies coming through as audiences are tiring of formulaic cinema.” Director Rajamouli too had alluded to the uncomplicated entertainment of buddy movies in one of his tweets.
The story arc itself is another reason we don’t see as many buddy movies. Venkat Siddareddy, the executive producer of Ee Nagaraaniki Emaindi (ENE), or Suresh Productions feels, “Buddy movie as a genre was never fully explored in Telugu. In movies where a buddy element was used, it formed only a a sub-plot. One problem with buddy movies is that we cannot expect a great story arc or a huge conflict. In Telugu films, it’s tough to make a film sans a major conflict or high stakes. In the absence of good writing, the only stakes are the interpersonal relationships between the buddies. So, till ENE happened there was no true buddy film in Telugu, and I think Tharun pulled it off so nicely.”
The applause for experimental cinema in Telugu may also have something to do with the penetration of internet and exposure to pan-Indian, and sometimes, world cinema. Telugu audiences can now spot references and ‘inspirations’, thanks to their Hollywood ‘hangover’.
These are good times for Indian cinema where Bollywood has broken new ground with a female-buddy movie in Veere di Wedding . One can only hope Ee Nagariniki Emaindi ’s success will lead to a barrage of other movies, complete with a good story, conflict, characterisation or depth, in this less-explored realm.
