Interesting items TOI on Telugu film heroes on net

MANA HEROES RULE THE WEB

Priya Ramachandran

Megastar Chiranjeevi may have jumped off innumerable trains, leapt off the tallest of buildings in ways that could put Spider Man to shame and even punched the living daylights out of thousands of baddies on screen through the course of his career. But even he would never have imagined that his claim to global fame would be a song from his 1985 film, "Donga", which has been watched 1,380,436 times across the world!
Yes, mana Tollywood stars have become the true 'heroes' of the online world where they've entertained millions of people with their gravity-defying action scenes. So what if law of physics doesn't apply to our actors, who can point a finger to make a train move backwards, make a horse skid on its side like a bike or even pull off Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' in the most incredulous manner. At least, we have become cult Internet virals across the globe, making people laugh.
Here are the top contendors for epic videos that made Tollywood famous worldwide...

BALAKRISHNA ? BOMB DETONATION


Our hero Balakrishna is captured by the baddies, who tied him onto a chair, with a time bomb strapped across his stomach. Balakrishna sees some bullet shells lying on the floor (Wonder why the villains didn't just shoot him instead of rigging up the bomb!). Balayya gets an idea, he throws himself on the floor and starts moving towards the bullet shells. He plans to use his mouth to throw the shell at the 'off ' button on the bomb. Yes, the userfriendly bomb comes with an off button. Finally, he pick up the shells with his mouth and spits it towards the time bomb and hits bulls' eye ? the time-bomb gets turned off !

CHIRANJEEVI ? GIRLY MAN (GOLIMAAR)


Chiranjeevi's re-creation of Micheal Jackson's "Thriller" in "Donga" is complete with special effects unheard of in those times ? undead zombies with a bad makeup job, bad imitation of MJ moves and a shiny, shiny, red spandex suit. And there you go, we have a perfect formula to become a web viral! In fact, this video has become such a massive hit worldwide that there is even a website dedicated to mana own 'Indian Thriller' with spoofs of movie reviewstyle testimonies like "Global Horror Star ? Universal Studios" and "He taught me so much ? Justin Timberlake". And with the song subtitled with English lyrics, which almost sounds like the Telugu words, the results have to be funny! Sample this:
Girly Man!
(Goli Maar)
Girly man man man man man man (Goli mar mar mar mar mar) Woot, I'm coming! (Puttan gane) Mutton goes yay (Matte koye) Cook the chicano's day (Kutte chan taan vaaste) Mucho Caliente (Muttu ta taa lantee) I'll eat wasabe on my dude (Alla e potaabe anno luu) All my body just got ruled
(Balla ma ti che staaro)

CHIRANJEEVI ? HORSE SKID SCENE


This is no ordinary horse in this Tollywood action sequence. It's a horse that m e g a s t a r Chiranjeevi sat on! When the actor decided to ride the horse from under a passing truck, the horse played perfect sidekick by skidding on the road like it has wheels on its side. Who could not love that. With over 476,807 views, we would say no one!

BALAKRISHNA ? TRAIN STOP SCENE


Let's face it! There's nothing that Balayya can't do. And a moving train is no match to his superhuman (and supernatural) strength. Forget his unmatchable physical might, Balakrishna in one of his epic action sequences used his sheer mental strength, the power of prayer (Jai chennakesava!) and with a slap of his thigh, sent a whole train (with baddies on the rooftop) packing off and that too, in reverse!
If you're still doubtful that mana heroes are the true superheroes, then here's a Youtube fan comment on one of our Tollywood video virals that sums it all ? "I love this desi stuff ! it's 10x better than Terminator, Matrix or any Transformers robotic cr*p"

TOLLYWOOD KA DEEWANA

It started off with 'Wanted' and then they got 'Ready' for more! Now there are several Telugu flicks in the pipeline being remade in Hindi. B-Town has clearly acquired a taste for our masalafilms

Sarah Salvadore

Bollywood, my darlings, has found a new muse. Since a little over a year now, Hindi cinema has taken the southern spice route straight to mana Tollywood and B-Town folks are watching Telugu films like never before. 'Need a hit? Look to T-Town' seems to be the mantra. And why not? If Box Office records are anything to go by, then the Hindi remakes of most Telugu flicks have been huge moneyspinners at the cinemas.

SALMAN FACTOR

The man to start it all was Hyderabad's favorite, Salman Khan. "Wanted", which was a remake of Mahesh Babu's "Pokiri", revived Sallu's career and since then there has been no looking back. These days, Salman sticks to Telugu movie remakes. The star is currently working on "Kick", the remake of the Ravi Teja-Ileana starrer by the same name. "Movies from Tollywood have that masala that was for long lacking in Hindi cinema. Apart from the star factor and script, the success of Telugu remakes further proves that the audience laps up the whole 'masalamelodrama-naach-gaana' package," says producer Bhushan Kumar, who tasted BO success with "Ready", the remake of the Ram-Genelia starrer. Sources from the Salman camp confirm that the actor is also interested in remaking the recent Ram-Hansika hit, "Kandireega". "Salim uncle saw "Kandireega" and was mighty impressed with it. He spoke to Salman suggested a remake in Hindi. Nothing is finalized yet, but Salman's camp is interested as the film also stars his good friend Sonu Sood," says a source close to Salman. Following Salman's example are Ajay Devgn and Akshay Kumar, with "Maryada Ramanna" and "Vikramarkudu" ("Rowdy Rathod"), respectively. Mahesh Babu's "Dhookudu" too, is being eagerly awaited as many B-Towners are in the race to bag the remake rights.

NOVELTY RULES

While many are left scratching their heads wondering at the success of Telugu remakes, trade analysts suggest that it's the novelty factor that works in their favor. "Telugu cinema brings that novelty factor for the Hindi movie audience. The plot and subject too needs to be strong," says trade analyst Komal Nahta. "It also has to do with the timing of the film. For e x a m p l e, "Singham" came at a time when the 'India A g a i n s t Corruption' campaign was on. Hence, the movie about an upright cop fighting corruption, struck a chord with the a u d i e n c e, " explains Nahta.

RETURN OF THE ACTION HERO

For the longest time, Hindi cinema screens were deprived of outa n d - o u t action flicks. The last action hero flick perhaps was in the early 90s. With Telugu remakes, the Hindi movie viewing audience has re-discovered its love for the genre. "It all began with "Ghajini" and " Wa n t e d " . Earlier Hindi cinema thrived on action flicks, then, the trend changed. Now, it seems the movies have come full circle. But that needs to be backed up by a strong script. For example, the concept of the undercover cop ("Wanted") appealed to the audience a lot. Hence the film worked," quips Nahta.

NO SLOWING DOWN

If anything, the trend of remaking Telugu movies in Hindi is here to stay. "You pick up any South Indian film — Telugu, Tamil or Malayalam — the stories are pan Indian. There are just slight adjustments that need to be made to match the sensibilities of the audience of a particular region," explains filmmaker Siddique, of the recent blockbuster "Bodyguard", which is also being remade in Telugu starring Venkatesh. Nahta too voices a similar opinion, "All said and done, Telugu writers are more experimental by nature and don't shy away from bringing to the fore the unthinkable and the new. Personally, I foresee a lot of Telugu flicks being remade in Hindi".
With Telugu remakes setting the cash registers ringing, rest assured, there's no stopping this juggernaut.

THE MOST WANTED LIST


Wanted

Ready

Kick

Magadheera

100 % Love

Vikramarkudu

Maryada Ramanna

Vedam

Prasthanam

A still from 'Wanted'