For Tollywood, 2023 is set to begin with a bang with two of the most awaited movies scheduled for Sankranti release.
Film buffs eagerly wait for Sankranti as big banner movies hit the screens on the major festival celebrated on a grand scale in both the Telugu states.
This Sankranti, movies of the biggest stars of the Telugu film industry are to compete. 'Veera Simha Reddy' of N. Balakrishna is scheduled for January 12, 2023, release while megastar Chiranjeevi and 'Mass Maharaja' Ravi Teja-starrer 'Waltair Veerayya' is to hit the screens the next day. Interestingly, Shruti Haasan is the female lead in both the movies.
The makers of both the movies have already created big buzz with the release of video clips of the songs in recent weeks.
Written and directed by Bobby Kolli, 'Waltair Veerayya' is ready for release. The teaser of the film, which also features Catherine Tresa as the second female lead, was released this week.
The most awaited action-drama will release in Telugu and Hindi on January 13. It is written and directed by Bobby Kolli and produced by Naveen Yerneni, Y Ravi Shankar and co-produced by G.K. Mohan, under the banner, Mythri Movie Makers.
The Telugu original and the dubbed Hindi version will be released on the same day, with the same title.
"January 13 is the eve of Sankranti and we are certain that like the kites that you see flying in the sky during this festival, our film too will fly high. Chiranjeevi garu ruled the box-office with his last film, Godfather, which did stupendous business. The response to this teaser and the songs has been overwhelming," said Yerneni.
Chiranjeevi believes that there is an emotional journey in the movie. He hopes that the movie live up the expectations.
The megastar also hinted that it will be a pure entertainer for fans. Calling director Bobby his 'fanboy', Chiranjeevi said he picked perfect artists for every character.
Balakrishna's fans also have huge expectations from Veera Simha Reddy. The actor is reported to have played a double role in the action thriller.
The cast includes Shruti Haasan, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Duniya Vijay and Rohit Pathak. Directed by Gopichand Mallineni, the movie has music by S. Thaman.
Film analysts say these two movies will set the tone for 2023. The trade circles expect that Tollywood will continue the successful run in the coming year.
During 2022, the Telugu film industry not only recovered from the impact of Covid-19 pandemic but churned out some smashing hits including epic 'RRR', which broke many records to become the third highest grossing Indian film of all time.
S.S. Rajamouli's epic action drama not only garnered about Rs 1,300 crore worldwide but won international acclaim.
Allu Arjun-starrer action drama 'Pushpa: The Rise', which was released in December 2021, continued its victory run in 2022 and became a blockbuster.
The shooting for 'Pushpa's' sequel began recently. It has already created a big buzz in the industry circles. Directed by Sukumar, the story of 'Pushpa 2' revolves around the clash between Pushpa (Allu Arjun) and SP Bhanwar Singh Shekhawat (Fahadh Faasil).
To be titled 'Pushpa: The Rule', it is currently the talk of the town. The film is likely to be release in June 2023. It remains to be seen if Allu Arjun recreates the magic of 'Pushpa: The Rise'.
Summer is another season considered crucial for Tollywood. Many big-budget and big star films are released during the holidays.
'Hari Hara Veera Mallu', the first pan-India movie of power star Pawan Kalyan, is likely to be released in April-May next year.
A period action film, it is being made in Telugu, Hindi, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam. Produced by A. Dayakar Rao, the movie will have music by M.M. Keeravani.
Mega Surya Production last week announced that Bollywood actor Bobby Deol will be part of 'HHVM' directed by Krish Jagarlamudi.
The shoot of 'HHVM' is progressing at a brisk pace in an enormous set erected at Ramoji Film City since October last week with Pawan Kalyan and 900 cast and crew.
Mega Surya Production is confident that 'HHVM will be a milestone movie and will be celebrated by one and all around the globe.
The film's production started in September 2020 but it could not be completed due to various reasons including Covid, Pawan Kalyan's busy schedule with other films and his political commitments.
Mahesh Babu is another big star whose movie will be eagerly awaited in 2023. Being made by Trivikram Srinivas, the movie is tentatively titled 'SSMB28'. The makers of the film announced in August that it will hit screens on April 28, 2023.
The date has been chosen as this is the 28th film of Mahesh Babu.
Pooja Hegde will play the female lead in the movie. The pair has teamed up for the first time after their 2019 romantic action film 'Maharshi'.
This will be the third movie in Mahesh and Trivikram combination. They earlier collaborated on 'Athadu' and 'Khaleja'.
