Will it be business as usual for Telugu cinema?

The warm reception to ‘Love Story’ spells hope for the theatrical business of Telugu cinema before the A-listers arrive beginning mid-December 2021

The Telugu film Love Story, directed by Sekhar Kammula and starring Naga Chaitanya and Sai Pallavi, reportedly grossed over ₹70 crore in 10 days since its theatrical release on September 24. In its opening weekend, it collected over $1,000,000 in the United States, the only Telugu film to do so post the second wave of COVID-19. A section of the Telugu film industry views this as a ray of hope for theatrical releases, while others temper it with caution and state that the footfalls do not match the pre-pandemic era.

A slew of films starring well-known actors are scheduled to release in the next few weeks. Big budget films starring A-list stars will arrive beginning mid-December 2021. The pan-Indian film RRR directed by S S Rajamouli, starring Ram Charan and NTR, is scheduled for January 7.

So far, 125 Telugu films have been released in theatres in 2021 — a staggering number despite theatres being closed for more than three months during the second wave of COVID-19. Theatres in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh re-opened on July 30, witnessing several small and medium film releases. A few managed decent opening weekend collections while others were washed out. For films with a budget of over ₹20 crore, the theatrical release was deemed a risk. Tuck Jagadish (directed by Shiva Nirvana, starring Nani), Narappa (the Asuran remake starring Venkatesh) and Maestro (the Andhadhun remake starring Nithiin and Tamannaah) chose direct digital release.