Spats, political drama, fan wars and a star debut overtook show business in Tollywood. HNN rewinds to the year that was.
Drama – there was no dearth of it in Tollywood this year. More than films, there were other issues that took centre stage in the Telugu film industry. A political tsunami engulfed the stars, who were either busy floating their own party or supporting existing ones. A political divide like this was never seen before in the industry.
STAR POLITICS
Mega star Chiranjeevi's political plunge saw family members –– Pawan Kalyan, Nagababu and Allu Aravind ––getting busier by the day. While, Nagababu known for his managerial abilities, saw a sudden spurt in his acting career (he acted in more than 20 films this year), actor Pawan Kalyan got busy managing Yuvarajyam, the youth wing of Prajarajyam (with the nightmare of his divorce behind him). Not to be outdone, the Nandamuri clan united for a political cause –– Balakrishna, Jr NTR and Kalyan Ram –– declared their support to Telugu Desam and Balakrishna was the star attraction at TDP’s Yuvagarjana. The sudden influx of stars into the political arena pushed the Congress to woo the remaining stars. At the Nandi Awards, actor Nagarjuna, Krishna and Mahesh Babu made their political allegiance obvious and other stars like Rajasekhar, Jeevitha and Srihari have sent feelers to the Congress, we hear.
FAN WARS, CRICKET & SON-RISE
The year also saw a fan war between actor Rajasekhar and Chiranjeevi, with the mega star apologising in public on behalf of fans who attacked Rajasekhar. This was a first! On a pleasanter note, Manchu Vishnu bought a stake in the ICL and the year also saw the most memorable son-rise, that of Naga Chaitanya.
NOT A SINGLE FILM
The biggest surprise of the year comes from Mahesh Babu –– the star did not shoot for a single day the whole year and had no release either. Disturbing silence!
FREAK ACCIDENT & A PASSION CRIME
River Godavari, where umpteen films are shot each year, turned into a watery grave for a junior artist while performing a stunt for the film Baladoor. The accident in March opened a can of worms but the issue died a slow death.
Towards the year-end the murder of Bhargavi, the second lead actress in the hit film Ashta Chemma, shook the industry, once again highlighting the struggles of upcoming actors and the downside of glitz and glamour.
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