Multi-starrers are making a big comeback

Star-spangled celluloid!

Multi-starrers are making a big comeback in Tollywood. Hyderabad Times explores this trend

Karthik Pasupulate

The recently released trailer of the Mahesh Babu-Venkatesh starrer "Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu" has generated a lot of excitement among fans. Watching two of T-town's most popular stars share screen space seems to have brought a whole new perspective to a single hero-centric film industry And looks like filmmakers are smitten too. In a surprising new trend, a slew of multi-starrers are in the pipeline.
The biggest of them all is the movie featuring the heroes of the Akkineni family ' ANR, Nagarjuna and Naga Chaitanya. Ram Charan and Allu Arjun are all set to act together in their upcoming movie, "Yevadu". Sumanth and Varun Sandesh have just signed a project titled "Twist" to be directed by Shashi Sudigala. Then there is "Vuu Kodathara Vulikki Padathara", starring Balakrishna and Manchu Manoj. That's not all. Jagapathi Babu has teamed up with Vikram for "Thandavam". Movie Moghul Rama Naidu has also expressed his desire to act in a movie alongside his son Venkatesh and grand sons Rana and Naga Chaitanya! Clearly, it's raining multi-starrers!
Thrilled with this new trend, Producer Shyam Prasad Reddy says, "It is so exciting to see Venky and Mahesh in the same frame. I am not the type who watches a movie on the first day of the release, but I would definitely catch the first show of this flick," he says, adding, "The movie seems to have all the makings of a blockbuster and it could definitely pave the way for more such films. I think we will see more multi-starrers in the future."
Actor Nagarjuna, who will be sharing screen space with his dad and son in a movie soon, thinks it's a healthy trend and that he is open to working with other stars too. "I think it's a great development in the industry and a sign of things to come. I have done a few multi-starrers in the past and I would love to act in more, provided I get exciting scripts. It opens up new possibilities both creatively and business-wise," he says.
Come to think of it, multi-starrers were a norm in Tollywood initially. NTR and ANR, two of the biggest matinee idols ever in Tollywood acted in 15 movies together, most of which were huge hits. The trend continued with the next generation of superstars like Krishna, Sobhan Babu, Krishnam Raju as well. Chiranjeevi also starred in a few multi-starrers like "Thodu Dongalu" (with Krishna) and "Kali" (with Rajinikanth) initially. But things started to change from the late '80s onwards. Producer Suresh Babu thinks it's a natural progression, saying, "Amitabh Bachchan revived the trend of multi-starrers-in Bollywood towards the end of his career as a solo hero. But the likes of Krishna and Sobhan Babu who were popular for multi-starrers did not do many such films towards the end of their careers. The next generation of heroes like Venky, Chiru and Nag were focusing on establishing themselves as independent heroes, so multi-starrers became scarce. But over the years, the stories and themes have got very repetitive and multi-starrers now offer new possibilities."
The producer also thinks Tollywood has a good pool of senior and young stars who can be pitted together. "I think the senior stars must team up with younger stars a lot more. We are very keen on doing a film with Venky and Rana together. We also don't have a culture of stars doing cameos in movies with other actors. It will open up many more opportunities," he explains.
Exciting as it sounds, multi-starrers pose a huge challenge for filmmakers, who have to come up with plots and narratives that do equal justice to all stars concerned. Director Vikram Kumar who is working on the script of the muchtalked about movie starring ANR, Nag and Naga Chaitanya, says, "I think it is a Himalayan task for me personally. Multi-starrers are a huge challenge for a writer who has to ensure that all three actors are projected well. The second challenge is to come up with a smart narrative that entices stars enough to share the screen with their contemporaries." He adds that his film is going to be a "romantic entertainer with a twist."
That said, multi-starrers involve a financial risk as well. "When you have two actors, the market of the movie goes up two folds. So does the risk as well. We are spending about 40-crores for big budget films these days. So, an extra actor and actress would add about 8-10 crores to the budget. That must be factored in as well. Yes, there is a market for such films. Until "Magadheera" released, we did not think Telugu films could make over 40 crores, but big budget films routinely make that kind of money these days and some hits even make 60 crores. So it's a continuous process," adds Shyam Prasad Reddy.
Dil Raju who is producing two multi-starrers ' "Yevadu" and "SVSC" ' thinks the onus is on the writers. "More stars means more visibility and more business potential. But we need writers to come up with great scripts for that to happen. Who knows, maybe the success of "SVSC" might just pave the way for more such films," he says. Inputs from Suresh Kavirayani

Allu Arjun will star alongside Ram Charan in 'Yevadu'

Varun Sandesh and Sumanth are set to share screen space in 'Twist'

Vikram and Jagapathi Babu will star in the film 'Thandavam'