Top 10 Tollywood Telugu Movies Of 2021

2021 was an odd year for Telugu cinema: for a few months, it seemed as if we'd never see another Telugu film in a theatre. Then, just as you were finishing up one major release, another was on your doorstep. Many prominent films were postponed, including RRR and Radhe Shyam, enabling smaller films like SR Kalyanamandapam and Pelli SandaD a chance at the box office.

Because of the fast pace of release, certain films, such as Raja Raja Chora, which required a strong marketing strategy to prepare the audience, were just delighted to be seen on the big screen, resulting in mixed outcomes. Others, like as Akhanda, have demonstrated that there is no such thing as too much masala for Telugu audiences. Given all of this, compiling a list of the finest Telugu films of the year was both simple and difficult. The amount of fantastic films to chose from was limited, but ranking them and eliminating a few was more difficult. In the spirit of the season, I'd want to state unequivocally that all of the films were excellent, with COVID emerging victorious. Unfortunately, my editor does not agree. So, here we go.

This list is notable for three omissions. Because it wasn't a full-fledged Pawan Kalyan picture or a direct remake of Pink, Vakeel Saab. Raja Raja Chora, whose heavy lifting was done by music director Vivek Sagar, was too long for its runtime, despite a few humorous moments in the second half. Shyam Singha Roy was also left off the list since it only managed to complete half of the project, abandoning the other half mercilessly.

10. Akhanda

Balakrishna hasn't lit screens on fire in a long time. Balakrisha, the actor and star, hasn't been used by any director since Goutamiputra Sathakarni. Similarly, Boyapati Srinivas' earlier picture Vinaya Vidheya Rama was highly chastised for being irrational, and since the release of Legend, his films have lacked an X-factor. When the two collaborated on Akhanda, they created a film that can only be described as a modern Telugu cultural experience. It's comparable to Tamil Nadu's Rajni-mania, but it's not quite the same. There's genuine delight and a fair amount of ridicule, but it's an experience that only those who see it in theatres can understand, one that goes well beyond storyline and politics. And, in this day and age, what better quality to admire in a film than its ability to provide delight to those who watch it in theatres?

9. Naandhi

Despite being the face of a billion comedies, everyone knows Allari Naresh is a capable actor. Whatever the outcome of the film, whether it was Gamyam, Nenu, or even the hammy Vishaka Express, his acting ability showed out. However, since 2012, his comedic gamble has failed, and fortunately for us, he has chosen to pursue a career as an actor. Naandhi is a courtroom drama about a man who is wrongfully imprisoned. The writing by director Vijay Kanakamedala lagged in a few areas. However, witnessing the adorable Allari Naresh tortured covered up the screenplay's flaws since you, the viewer, wanted him to be punished for not properly utilising the actor within. Varalaxmi Sarathkumar also had a strong showing. She's one of the rare performers who has turned her Tamil-accented Telugu into a strength rather than a flaw, and it works wonders for her.

8. Pushpaka Vimanam

I believe the Telugu people would have been more accepting of Pushpaka Vimanam if it had come from a different business. The movie was a smash and had positive reviews, but it didn't take off the way I expected it to when I saw it on the first day of its release on the early morning show.

Sundar, played by Anand Devarakonda, was fantastic. As the uncomfortable government school math teacher whose wife elopes soon after their wedding, he shines. Director Damodara does an excellent job with the comic set pieces while keeping the screenplay's anxiety about what might have happened to this poor woman. He expertly constructs a protagonist who makes us laugh while still making us suspect of his involvement in a heinous act. Perhaps he could have chosen someone other than Sunil in the character of the crooked cop with nefarious motives, but the picture worked for me and is a terrific contribution to the comic thriller genre, which is known in Telugu cinema as the infamous slippery slope.

7. Jaathi Rathnalu

Jaathi Rathnalu became a favourite of mine. Don't get me wrong: I was blown away by the initial viewing as well. During the first half of the movie, I laughed till I had abs. Since Allari Naresh dropped the ball in the comedy genre, I haven't witnessed such goofiness in a Telugu film. But by the time the third act rolled around, I'd had enough. The farce had gone past what I thought was its hilarious limit.

However, re-watching the film gave me a chuckle in almost every scene. Faria Abdullah and Naveen Polishetty struck the perfect balance between adoring and mocking their chemistry.The writer-director Anudeep KV, whose awkward and weird style of humour translated well on screen, is the film's major star. It'll be fascinating to see if he can keep his powerful comedic style while also adding narration to it.

6. Cinema Bandi

Praveen Kandregula's Cinema Bandi is one of those charming little pictures that punches well above its weight. I'd like to see how the film would have performed at the box office if it had been released in theatres rather than on Netflix, especially in the Telugu towns on the outskirts of Karnataka where the film is set. The film's soul was its actors and the dialect they nailed. It wasn't as widely recognised as C/o Kancharapalem, but the film's soul was its performers and the dialect they nailed. As someone who grew up in that region, I'm aware of how little the dialect and its potential for comedy has been explored on TV without being offensive.

The storey of Veerababu, Ganapathy, and the Gollapally locals who make Thatha Raasina Titanic is pure feel-good. Rag Mayur as Maridesh Babu and Uma YG as Manga, in particular, were outstanding and one of those pairings that the internet should be supporting.

5. Drushyam 2

One of the reasons I adore the new Venkatesh — fondly known as Venky Mama by his admirers — is the way he is allowing himself to mature on screen. Drushyam, directed by Sripriya, was produced in a soap opera-like manner, but Drushyam 2, directed by Jeetu Joseph, appeared more cinematic while maintaining the soul of the original and the nativity of its new setting.

As Rambabu, Venkatesh is in great form, going into lower depths to save his family, but Venkatesh somehow manages to make you cheer for him. I'd go so far as to say that I preferred Rambabu to Geroge Kutty since the latter appears to be a risk taker, whilst the former appears to have rigged the entire system.

As the film approaches its final hour, I am convinced that it would have been a fantastic theatre experience.

4. Uppena

Uppena had a slew of impressive debuts. First and foremost, filmmaker Bucchi Babu Sana, who also penned the screenplay, took known plot aspects and reimagined them. With a sociologist's eye, he set up the fishing community's environment. But the most crucial question he posed in his well-known storey was what masculinity means in a machismo-obsessed film society. The fact that the final twist was leaked on the internet before the film's premiere did not detract from the cinematic experience. There was apprehension about how he'd get there and how delicately he'd manage the situation.

And this is where Vaishnav Tej and Krithi Shetty's debuts come into play, because their freshness on film and how they performed the classic romantic beats of young love on screen — the first time they exchanged looks, the first kiss, the first quarrel as a pair – all appeared new. Vaishnav Tej's ability to clearly depict pathos during close-up shots, in particular, gives hope that, despite coming from a family known for popular and macho cinema, he might have given Telugu cinema its first Abhay Deol-like actor.

The film's most illustrious debut — that of Vijay Sethupathi, for whom this was his first direct Telugu movie — was the only disappointment. He didn't dub for himself, and his character played into some of Telugu cinema's oldest stereotypes in a film that questioned many of them.

Apart from the debutants, Devi Sri Prasad, the music composer, was the only veteran who did a near-perfect job. His songs and background music demonstrated that, after a two-decade career, there is no music director in Telugu film who can manage romance as effectively as he can.

3. Adbhutham

Adbhutham was the film that astonished me the most this year. Time travel and romance were explored in this sci-fi comic thriller, which took great pains to keep its concepts simple and engaging. The logical leaps are massive, but the film sets the tone right away with ominous clouds looming above Hyderabad, altering the fabric of time and space.

Prashant Verma, Mallik Ram, and Manideep Pallerla, the writing team, respect the audience's intelligence while also being wary of pop-cultural references they might miss. The secession of Telangana, the release of the film Manam, the Indian general election, and a slew of other cultural milestones were all used to underscore the anguish of the film's divided lovers.

While Adbhutham's protagonist Teja Sajja has a knack for finding good screenplays like Zombie Reddy and Oh Baby, it's the film's other lead Shivani Rajashekhar who steals the show with the ideal mix of performance and chirpiness. For the first time in a long time, a character's chirpiness appears natural rather than an attempt to be too sweet.

Many Hollywood and South Korean films are heavily referenced in the film, however they appear to be homage rather than plagiarised. This film lived up to its title, which means 'wonder(ful),' and despite not receiving a piece of the marketing money, I have recommended it to innumerable others.

2. Love Story

The'second film mistake' has hampered Sekhar Kammula's career. Godavari, his follow-up to Anand, was a similar venture, and the softness of the film, the tensions it depicted, and the conversations all added to a sense of déjàvu. Similarly, Happy Days was followed by Life Is Beautiful two years later, and the fact that the latter was a remake of the former became a running joke. Given that, Love Story, the casting of Sai Pallavi, and the film's overall visual palette felt too similar to Fidaa, the film's visual palette felt too similar to Fidaa. But I was relieved to be proven incorrect.

Sekhar Kammula's most enraged film is Love Story. Love Story is the mature rage of an adult organising their first protest, whereas Leader seemed like the idealism of a college student communicated through a Facebook post. Revanth, a Dalit Christian Zumba instructor, and Mounika, an oppressor caste woman seeking for economic independence in Hyderabad, are the protagonists of the film. Both are from the same village, and Mounika has a childhood secret that continues to affect her life as an adult.

The film handles caste politics, child abuse, and intergenerational conflict with such ease and simplicity that it feels like Shekhar Kammula is underappreciated for how he avoids chest-thumping dialogue in favour of sympathetic moments. This film had a kissing sequence between its leads that felt genuine rather than contrived to titillate viewers. While Sai Pallavi and Eashwari Rao were excellent as predicted, the film's revelations were Akkineni Naga Chaitanya and Rajeev Kanakala, as well as Pawan CH's soundtrack. There have been complaints about the film's sudden ending, and I agree, but I believe the actual reason one remembers the film so long after seeing it is because of how jagged and brutal the ending seemed. As a result, the film and its politics are still worth contemplating months later.

1. Pushpa

It is without a doubt the best film of the year since it encompasses everything that makes Telugu cinema so appealing. It has star power and flavour, and it takes the beats of a gangster drama like City of God and Gangs of New York and puts them in the context of Red Sanders' smuggling in Chittoor — a setting that has never been thoroughly explored in Telugu film.

It takes a rare kind of movie to improve with each viewing, and Pushpa is one of them. I've seen it three times now, and each time I notice something new — an actor's expression, a line of speech I didn't catch, set-ups whose payoffs I overlooked, and so on.

But it was Allu Arjun, who I had previously dismissed as a performer, who delivered the most powerful punch in the picture. He has the sheer star charisma last seen in Chiranjeevi in the 1990s, when playing to the gallery was an art form in and of itself. But, through Pushpa Raj, he also shown that he is a performer, never breaking character to placate admirers and instead honing the role to perfection. Allu Arjun's best work to date is the climax sequence in which his character is overtaken with arrogance.

Pushpa is difficult to pin down since it is a biographical storey about a character's development in a world rife with criminality and depravity. Seshachalam Forests became synonymous with Pushpa Raj himself, with cinematographer Miroslaw Kuba Brozek complementing Sukumar's narrative. At first appearance, they appear to be easy to exploit, but their danger comes in the amount of fatalities they inflict directly and indirectly. The climax, which received mixed reviews, beautifully sets up the following section, leaving us wondering how the two insane guys who care only about their egos will ruin the world around them. But for me, the film's highlight was Jagadeesh Prathap Bandara, who plays Keshava and serves as the story's narrator. Sukumar's choice of Pushpa's most likeable and least grey character to narrate the storey is brilliant, and the actor is a revelation.