Telugu cinema in 2023: ‘Balagam’ to ‘Hi Nanna’ and ‘Salaar’, taking stock of notable films and trends this year

Telugu cinema in 2023: ‘Balagam’ to ‘Hi Nanna’ and ‘Salaar’, taking stock of notable films and trends this year. RRR became the first Indian feature film to win an Academy Award, Allu Arjun became the first Telugu actor to win the National Award for Best Actor. Other notable films include Dasara, Virupaksha, Samajavaragamana, Baby, Bhagavanth Kesari, Month of Madhu, Keedaa Cola and Miss Shetty Mr Polishetty

At the time of publishing this feature, director Prashanth Neel’s Salaar, headlined by Prabhas,had opened to an overwhelming response at the ticket windows. The celebratory atmosphere is a good way to sign off an otherwise underwhelming 2023 for Telugu cinema. This late December cheer is reminiscent of the excitement that director Sukumar and Allu Arjun’s Pushpa - the Rise generated towards the end of 2021, a year when theatres were closed for months during the pandemic.

The mammoth success of Pushpa followed by SS Rajamouli’s RRR in early 2022 put the Telugu film industry in an enviable position. While other industries struggled, it looked like Telugu cinema knew a thing or two about getting the audience, who were homebound during lockdowns, back to the theatres. 2023, however, has been a reality check. Barring Salaar, several ambitious Telugu films that hoped to cut across language barriers bit the dust .

Emerging directors made qualitative films that broke away from the clutter but these were few and far between. For every Balagam, Month of Madhu, MAD, Hi Nanna and Miss Shetty, Mr Polishetty, there were periods of prolonged lull. The summer of 2023 was the most lukewarm in the industry’s recent history, except for the pandemic years when the virus played spoilsport. 

Data from the Telugu Film Producers’ Council reveals that approximately 300 films were released in theatres until December 22, of which 230 were direct Telugu films and 70 were dubbed in Telugu.

An overview of the year, before we discuss films that stood out. 

It was a matter of time before this bubble burst. The blurring of language boundaries, for the current generation of filmmakers, began with SS Rajamouli’s Baahubali -the Beginning in 2015, further bolstered by Prashanth Neel’s KGF series, Pushpa, Kantara and RRR. The digital boom during lockdowns further whetted the appetite of the audience to watch series and films in different languages. 

However, did every ambitious Telugu film stand a chance at the national box office? Films such as Skanda - the attacker, Agent, Ravanasura, Spy, Shaakuntalam and Tiger Nageswara Raofailed on homeground and in other languages. Director Shiva Nirvana’s romance drama Kushi, starring Vijay Deverakonda and Samantha Ruth Prabhu, opened well in Telugu thanks to its feel-good vibes, but struggled to hold attention beyond the opening weekend.