Tollywood Heroes : Life After Debut Films

Nagarjuna is pushing the distributors of “Akhil” hard to run the film despite mounting losses. Why such a huge pressure to make a debut film a super hit. Did the success or failure of debut film matter to any of the star heroes over the past two decades? An in-depth analysis.

It is now official: “Akhil” has become the biggest disaster in recent times. What was meant to be a perfect launch vehicle for Akhil proved an anti-climax for Nagarjuna fans and fans of Akkineni family who were waiting for months for a dream debut. Made at a whopping budget of Rs.45 crores, the film has made distributors in both overseas and domestic markets sore over the losses piled up post-release.

Despite Nag’s involvement, the distributors are in no mood to run the film despite huge losses despite no big releases till December even as Nagarjuna has promised to compensate them for his upcoming film “Soggade Chinni Nayana”. Note that debut films for a film-family is never a matter of life-and-death if you go by the history of debut launches over the past 25 years. They were just a formality to launch the star hero and success or mega-success didn’t dent the confidence of the film families.

The closest example to the debut of “Akhil” is the debut film of Jagapathi Babu in 1989 – “Adavilo Abhimanyudu” by Jagapathi Productions’ Rajendra Prasad. It had a similar complicated plot but good drama and emotions but the film sank without a trace. But Jagapathi Babu recovered and carved a good niche for himself in Tollywood becoming a bankable hero who was once seen as a replacement to Shoban Babu.

Even for Nagarjuna’s debut film in 1985 – “Vikram”, the film was a runaway hit but ANR at that time said Nagarjuna should act in better stories and original scripts -something he took more seriously in the 1990s bringing him dramatic success.

Victory Venkatesh had a more dramatic debut in “Kaliyuga Pandavalu” with a sensational story and powerful dialogues by Parachuri Brothers and he never looked back.

Pawn Kalyan‘s debut film “Akkada Ammayi Ikkada Abbayi” in 1996 is another great example of why debut doesn’t matter in the long-run. He is today one of Tollywood’s craziest stars but his debut film with Supriya bombed at the box-office as fans thought it was a routine love story without any drama. But Pawan Kalyan built his innings in the first phase with some great hits after that and created his own body language and style that has become the toast of Tollywood.

Mahesh Babu has had a dramatic debut in 1999 with “Rajakumarudu” with K Raghavendra Rao as director. The film was an average success and just got registered as a launch vehicle for the Prince. It showed him as an all-rounder who can dance, fight, emote and crack comedy.

NTR Jr. is the hero who had the unluckiest debut in 2001 with “Ninnu Choodalani” launched by Ramoji Rao. The film bombed heavily at the box-office and it took “Student No.1” by SS Rajamouli to establish him as the real hero. Despite not having any Godfather, NTR Jr. struggled with a string of films before “Student No.1” which may have won him good name but not enough sizzle to be taken seriously. This includes “Bala Ramayanam” and “Ninnu Choodalani”. After 15 years, NTR Jr. is now a serious challenger to the legacy of star families, his next “Nannaku Prematho” is his 25th film. (See report 15 years of NTR Jr.)

Prabhas debuted in 2002 with an angry man look in “Eeshwar” which became a sleeper hit but later struggled for a few years before films like “Chatrapati” established him as a superstar. Of course, from the beginning, Prabhas had the persona of a Superstar who had it in him to belt out hits.

Allu Arjun debuted in 2003 with “Gangotri” with K Raghavendra Rao again as director. The film showed Arjun in a deglamorised role and became known as a musical hit but didn’t raise any expectations of him as a serious contender – it took a decade of experimentation and improvisation along with re-engineered looks to make Allu Arjun one of the most stylish stars in Tollywood who is a treat to watch in any film – whatever be the length of his role.

Ram Charan’s debut film in 2007 had the right emotional connect with the audience in Puri Jagannadh directed “Chirutha”. He was an auto driver’s son in the film and had all the elements of an enchanting love story, a good revenge element and plenty of emotional and comedy scenes. The songs by Mani Sharma created the year’s biggest blockbuster and Ram Charan has arrived in the first movie itself.

Nag Chaitanya debuted in 2009 with “Josh” directed by Vasu Varma and launched by Dil Raju. The movie had a dramatic story with a modern message but had too many elements jumbled into one movie. It still has great TV ratings but the movie flopped beyond Nag’s imagination. Nag Chaitanya recovered with some hit movies like “Yeh Maaya Chesaave” , “100% Love” and “Manam” and is creating a brand of youthful films to his credit.

What are the key messages coming from an analysis of all the debut films of the star heroes of the last decade or two? Not many except that debut films are not the only passport to stardom and superstardom of aspiring star heroes. It doesn’t make any sense to over-invest in the debut film of a star hero like Akhil who still has many years to go before he may also be catapulted to super stardom in future. It takes a lot of effort, discipline, strategy and planning to get to the top and stay in the race. There is an element of luck in the way the fans connect to the star hero but in the end a lot depends on how carefully one choses story plots and the directors in acting in films which are suited to the strengths and body-language of the respective heroes -even as the audiences expect something better and different each time.

The most important thing to note is that there is higher margin for error when it comes to star heroes. Fans are more patient with them than with say someone like Naani, Sarvanand, Siddharth etc. So, chill Nagarjuna. Don’t panic because “Akhil” has flopped and don’t rush to make it a “certified” hit at the cost of the distributors. Superstars are born over atleast a decade and do not necessarily show every facet of their calibre in the first movie itself. With none of Nagarjuna’s films ever touching a collection figure of Rs.40 crores, it is foolish to make a film on a budget of Rs.45 crores and then push your luck hard to make it a deemed hit. There is life after this “Akhil” provided they learn from the debacle. And there is life after a debut film, even if it is a flop.