The Top Telugu Films, 2008

The Top Telugu Films, 2008
The year 2008 saw more meaningful and slightly offbeat Telugu hits made on smaller budgets -- like Gamyam, Ashta Chamma and Vinayakudu -- than before. Avakkai Biryani may not have fared as well, but it was a well-reviewed film. Interestingly, the year also saw a lot of debutant directors.
We take a look at the best of Telugu cinema this year.



Gamyam
Director: Radhakrishna Jagarlamudi (Krish)
A small film directed by a debutant Radhakrishna Jagarlamudi (Krish), Gamyam created quite a stir.
A meaningful story (inspired by The Motorcycle Diaries and Easy Rider), with good performances by Sharwanand, Allari Naresh (as Gaali Seenu), Kamalinee Mukherjee and Rao Ramesh, Krish ensured a freshness which was a welcome change in Telugu cinema.
Gamyam became one of the most talked of films of the year. It is now being remade in Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Bengali.

The Top Telugu Films, 2008
Ashta Chamma
Director: Mohankrishna Indraganti Yet another small budget film that fared well at the box office, Ashta Chamma was also critically acclaimed.
Directed by National award winning director Mohankrishna Indraganti, Ashta Chamma ensured wholesome entertainment for the entire family. The film revolved around the heroine's fetish for the name Mahesh, and brought back the good old Telugu language, thanks to the director's dialogues.
Though inspired by Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, Mohankrishna wrote this whacky, witty film ingeniously.
Swati, Bhargavi and newcomers Nani and Srinivas Avasarala's superb sense of timing and acting saw this comedy sail smoothly. Rammohan, who ventured into production with this movie, should be complimented for taking up such a script.

The Top Telugu Films, 2008
Ready
Director: Srinu Vaitla Srinu Vaitla made Ready within the formulaic pattern but infused it with humour (particularly from Brahmanandam) and borrowed snippets from Hindi and Telugu films.
The highlight was the cute pairing of Ram and Genelia. Devisriprasad's music and good picturisation of a few songs were the additional plus points of the film.

The Top Telugu Films, 2008
Kotha Bangaru Lokam
Director: Srikanth Addala Released on Vijayadasami, this movie is directed by debutant Srikanth Addala. It is hugely inspired by Sekhar Kammula's Happy Days, still running in theatres. Varun Sandesh (of Happy Days fame) was paired with Shweta Prasad (of Iqbal fame), making her Telugu debut.



The love story, shot against a college backdrop, had refreshing scenes, good music from Mickey J Meyer, great performances by Varun, Shwetha, Jayasudha, Prakash Raj, Rao Ramesh and brilliant camerawork by Chota K Naidu.



'Dil' Raju, the producer, continued his golden winning streak with this project.

The Top Telugu Films, 2008
Avakkai Biryani
Director: Anish Kuruvilla This film, produced by Sekhar Kammula and Chandrasekhar Kammula and directed by Anish Kuruvilla, is a sensitive film about an inter-religious romance.
Set in a small town, it talks of aspirations of the small town folk in a country where, even after 60 years of independence, it cannot grant certain things to its people. The film deals with the issue of communal harmony, along with a love story.
Anish explores the canvas of Telangana, and gives an Iranian look to it, with the help of Director of Photography Shamdat.
Avakkai Biryani may have been a tad slow for many, but it had some tuneful music composed by Manikanth Kadri, good performances by Kamal Kamaraju and Bindu Madhavi and editing by Pravin Boyina.
It's a pity the film had an average run at the box office.