Hindu Gods showering blessings on Tollywood

With the massive success of ‘HanuMan, which revolved around Lord Hanuman, it looks like Hindu Gods are showering blessings on Tollywood. Even megastar Chiranjeevi’s upcoming movie ‘Vishvambhara’ shows a mighty Hanuman statue in the first look. Talking about his Rs 100 core blockbuster ‘Hanu Man, new-age director Prashanth Varma says, “I was always eager to make a fantasy movie. It has to be something like desi superhero film with songs and stuff. Later, I started writing the script and all I could imagine was Lord Hanuman and it worked wonders.” He also claims that Telugu filmmakers always had the ability to churn out mythological movies. “Telugu filmmakers were far ahead and delivered devotional and mythological movies with ease. Telugu makers know how to narrate mythology stories engagingly without distorting our culture and traditions,” he adds.

Earlier, revered gods like Lord Krishna and Lord Shiva have become part of Telugu movies to revive the socio-fantasy genre in a big way. Instead of making usual devotional films around Hindu Gods, new-generation directors are designing it as socio-fantasies to connect with new generation audiences. While “Karthikeya 2’ set the box office on fire across India, Pawan Kalyan’s Lord Krishna role in ‘Gopala Gopala’ also minted money in Telugu box office a few years ago. Now, with the big launch of ‘Kannappa’ by actor-producer Manchu Vishnu-set to glorify Lord Shiva and his relationship with his staunch devotee- set to change the face of Telugu cinema.

“Honestly, I didn’t set any trend or intended to change the face of Telugu cinema while I started ‘Karthikeya 2,” says new-age director Chandoo Mondeti, whose ‘Karthikeya 2’ showcased the invincible power of Lord Krishna. “I always been fascinated with Lord Krishna from my childhood and wondered about his enormous skills. He constructed a city called Dwarka to protect his people from enemies through air or water and then designed his weapon-Sudarshan Chakra-which has its own salient features to decimate evil forces. I tried to connect various dots between revered scriptures and new age books and discovered a lot about his immense knowledge. I travelled to various places and found his footmarks in more ways than one. I was baffled by his multi-tasking and innumerable feats” he adds.

On the other hand, he doesn’t subscribe to the view that Hindi film audiences are watching god-centric films like ‘Karthikeya 2’ and ‘OMG 2’, since there is Sanathan Dharma wave in the country under the BJP regime. “Hindu Gods have been worshipped for thousands of years due to the existence of Sanatana Dharma so our nation boasts of unprecedented god-believers and well-made movies are minting money,” he points out.

While Vishnu Manchu describes his new movie “Kannappa’ has a celebration of devotion. “At its core, lies the awe-inspiring transformation of Kannappa, an erstwhile atheist who underwent a profound metamorphosis into an unflinching devotee of Lord Shiva. His devotion resonates across temporal and cultural boundaries, solidifying his stature as one of history’s most exceptional devotees. The honor of perpetuating this extraordinary legacy is a privilege I hold dear,” he added.

Interestingly, young actor Nikhil who is playing a warrior in his upcoming movie ‘Swayambhu’ claimed that he is always a devotee of ‘Lord Hanuman’ in a tweet.