Telugu language Telugu (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken by Telugu people predominantly living in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where it is also the official language. It is the most widely spoken ...

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 35 ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern Indi ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsHollywood. By 2021, it has emerged as the largest film industry in India in terms of box-office. Since 1909, filmmaker Raghupathi Venkaiah Naidu was involved in producing short films and travelling to different regions in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

to promote film work. In 1921, he produced the silent film, '' Bhishma Pratigna'', generally considered to be the first Telugu

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

, and hence, regarded as the ''Father of Telugu cinema''. In 1933, '' Sati Savitri'' directed by Chittajallu Pullayya received an honorary diploma at the 2nd Venice. Known for its big-ticket, and popular film genre catering to wider audience, works such as '' Pathala Bhairavi'' (1951) (only South Indian entry at the 1st IFFI), '' Malliswari'' (1951), '' Devadasu'' (1953), '' Mayabazar'' (1957), '' Nartanasala'' (1963), ''

Maro Charitra ''Maro Charitra'' () is a 1978 Indian Telugu-language romantic tragedy film written and directed by K. Balachander. It stars Kamal Haasan and Saritha in the lead with Madhavi appearing in prominent roles. The film deals with cross-cultural ...

'' (1978), '' Maa Bhoomi'' (1979), ''

Sankarabharanam Sankarabharanam may refer to: * ''Sankarabharanam'' (1980 film), an Indian Telugu-language musical drama film * ''Sankarabharanam'' (2015 film), an Indian Telugu-language crime comedy film * Sankarabharanam (raga) Dhīraśankarābharaṇaṃ, c ...

'' (1980), '' Sagara Sangamam'' (1983), and '' Siva'' (1989) are featured in '' CNN-IBN'''s "100 Greatest Indian Films of All Time". Ethnographic works such as Mrinal Sen's ''

Oka Oori Katha ''Oka Oori Katha'' (English title: The Marginal Ones; Telugu: ఒక ఊరి కథ) is a 1977 Indian Telugu-Language drama film directed by Mrinal Sen. The Pan-Indian film is based on the story ''Kafan'' by Munshi Premchand. The film was one ...

'' (1977) won the " Special Jury Prize (Karlovy Vary IFF)";

B. Narsing Rao Bongu Narsing Rao (born 1946) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, littérateur, composer, poet, producer, actor and painter known for his works in Telugu cinema, and Telugu theatre. Rao has garnered five National Film Awards, three Nandi ...

's ''

Maa Ooru Maa Ooru () is a 1987 Indian Telugu-language anthropological film written and directed by B. Narsing Rao. The film won the Best Ethnographic Film at the 36th National Film Awards "For recalling with nostalgia the life of a village community of ...

'' (1992) won the " Media Wave Award" of Hungary;

K. N. T. Sastry Kanaala Nanjunda Tirumala Sastry (5 September 1945 – 13 September 2018) was an Indian film critic, screenwriter, director, littérateur, and producer, known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He has garnered six National Film Awards ...

's ''

Thilaadanam ''Thiladaanam'' (The Rite... A Passion) is a 2000 Indian Telugu-language drama film, written, and directed by film-critic K. N. T. Sastry in his debut directorial, based on the story by Rentala Nageswara Rao. The film features H. G. Dattatreya ...

'' (2000) received "New Currents Award" at the 7th Busan; Rajnesh Domalpalli's '' Vanaja'' (2006) won "Best First Feature Award" at the 57th Berlinale. Mainstream works such as

K. Viswanath Kasinadhuni Viswanath (born 19 February 1930) is an Indian film director, screenwriter and actor, known for his works primarily in Telugu cinema. He is recipient of five National Film Awards, seven state Nandi Awards, ten Filmfare Awards South, ...

's ''Sankarabharanam'' (1980) won the "Prize of the Public" at the Besançon Film Festival of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. S. S. Rajamouli's epic '' Baahubali 2: The Conclusion'' (2017), and alternate history '' RRR'' (2022) are the only Indian films to win the American " Saturn Award for Best International Film". The later is the only Indian film to be featured in the " U. S. National Board of Review top 10".

History

Early development

The

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode ...

film industry originated with silent films in 1921, with the production and release of '' Bhishma Pratigna'' in 1921. The film was directed by Raghupathi Venkayya and his son R. S. Prakash.

Y. V. Rao Yaragudipati Varada Rao ( Telugu: యెర్రగుడిపాటి వరదరావు; 30 May 1903 – 13 February 1979) was an Indian director, producer, actor, screenwriter, and editor known for his works primarily in Telugu, Kannad ...

and R. S. Prakash established a long-lasting precedence of focusing exclusively on religious themes; ''Nandanar'', ''Gajendra Moksham'', and ''Matsyavatar'', three of their most noted productions, centred on religious figures, parables, and morals. The first film studio in South India, Durga Cinetone, was built in 1936 by Nidamarthi Surayya in

Rajahmundry Rajahmundry, officially known as Rajamahendravaram, is a city in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and District headquarters of East Godavari district. It is the sixth most populated city in the state. During British rule, the District of Ra ...

, Andhra Pradesh. In 1935, ''Andhra Cine Tone'' was built in Visakhapatnam by ''Gottumukkala Jagannadha Raju''. He introduced digital theater sound with the 1935 film ''Jagadamba''.

Rise of the "talkie"

The first Telugu film with audible dialogue, '' Bhakta Prahlada'', was produced by

H.M. Reddy Hanumappa Muniappa Reddy (12 June 1892 – 14 January 1960), known as H. M. Reddy, was an Indian film director and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema. He directed the first Indian multilingual sound film ''Kalidas'' (1931), shot in T ...

, who directed the first bilingual (

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode ...

and

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...

) talkie

Kalidas Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and th ...

(1931). Bhakta Prahlada was completed on 15 September 1931, which henceforth became known as "Telugu Film Day" to commemorate its completion. Popularly known as talkies, films with sound quickly grew in number and popularity. In 1934, the industry saw its first major commercial success with '' Lavakusa''. Directed by

C. Pullaiah Chittajallu Pullayya ( Telugu: చిత్తజల్లు పుల్లయ్య; 1898 – 6 October 1967) was an Indian film director and screenwriter. He is one of the earliest film personalities in Telugu cinema being associated with ...

and starring Parupalli Subbarao and Sriranjani, the film attracted unprecedented numbers of viewers to theatres and thrust the young industry into mainstream culture. By 1936, the mass appeal of film allowed directors to move away from religious and mythological themes. That year, under the direction of Kruthiventi Nageswara Rao, ''Prema Vijayam'', a film focusing on social issues, was released. Its success prompted the production of dozens of other immensely successful 'social films', notably 1939's ''

Vandemataram ''Vande Mataram'' (Sanskrit: वन्दे मातरम् IAST: , also spelt ''Bande Mataram''; বন্দে মাতরম্, ''Bônde Mātôrôm''; ) is a poem written in sanskritised Bengali by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee in the ...

'', touching on societal problems like the practice of giving

dowry A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment ...

, Telugu films increasingly focused on contemporary living: 29 of the 96 films released between 1937 and 1947 had social themes.

Cinema during the Crown Rule

In 1938, Gudavalli Ramabrahmam, has co-produced and directed the

social problem film A social problem film is a narrative film that integrates a larger social conflict into the individual conflict between its characters. In the context of the United States and of Hollywood, the genre is defined by fictionalized depictions of soci ...

, ''

Mala Pilla ''Mala Pilla'' or ''Malapilla'' (''English: ''Girl from Mala caste) is a 1938 Indian Telugu-language social problem film directed by Gudavalli Ramabrahmam and written by Tapi Dharma Rao.S. V. Rama Rao (2006) ''Naati 101 Chitralu''. Kinnera Publ ...

'' starring,

Kanchanamala Kanchanamala (1917–1981) was an Indian actress known for her works in Telugu cinema. Personal life She was born in Tenali, Andhra Pradesh. During her childhood days, she went to live with her uncle who was a violin teacher. She was married to ...

, the film dealt with the crusade against untouchability, prevailing in pre-independent India. In 1939, he directed ''

Raithu Bidda ''Raithu Bidda'' (''English:'' Farmer of Common Origins) ( ''Telugu'': రైతు బిడ్డ, lit. Farmer-Son of the Soil) is a 1939 Telugu social problem film directed by Gudavalli Ramabrahmam. It is a social reformist film during the ...

'', starring thespian

Bellary Raghava Bellary Raghava (Telugu: బళ్ళారి రాఘవ; born ''Tadipatri Raghavacharyulu''; 2 August 1880 – 16 April 1946) was an Indian playwright and actor, known for his works predominantly in Telugu theatre and cinema.M.L. Narasimhar ...

. The film was banned by the British administration in the region, for depicting the uprise of the peasantry among the

Zamindar A zamindar (Hindustani language, Hindustani: Devanagari: , ; Persian language, Persian: , ) in the Indian subcontinent was an autonomous or semiautonomous Raja, ruler of a province. The term itself came into use during the reign of Mughal Em ...

's during the

British raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

. 1940 film, '' Viswa Mohini'', is the first Indian film, depicting the Indian movie world. The film was directed by Y. V. Rao and scripted by Balijepalli Lakshmikanta Kavi, starring V. Nagayya. Rao subsequently made the sequel films ''Savithri'' and ''Sathyabhama'' (1941–42) casting thespian

Sthanam Narasimha Rao Sthanam Narasimha Rao, popularly known as Sthanam (23 September 1902 – 21 February 1971), was an Indian actor known for his works in Telugu theatre and Telugu cinema. He was known for playing female characters and was a recipient of a Padma S ...

. The outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and the subsequent resource scarcity caused the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

to impose a limit on the use of filmstrip in 1943 to 11,000 feet, a sharp reduction from the 20,000 feet that had been common till then. As a result, the number of films produced during the war was substantially lower than in previous years. Nonetheless, before the ban, an important shift occurred in the industry: Independent studios formed, actors and actresses were signed to contracts limiting whom they could work for, and films moved from social themes to folklore legends. Ghantasala Balaramayya, has directed the mythological ''Seetarama Jananam'' under his home production, Prathiba Picture, marking veteran Akkineni Nageswara Rao's Telugu screen debut in 1944.

Classical cinema and Golden Age

''Malliswari'' is the first Telugu film which had a public release with thirteen prints along with Chinese subtitles at Beijing on 14 March 1953, and a

16 mm film 16 mm film is a historically popular and economical gauge of film. 16 mm refers to the width of the film (about inch); other common film gauges include 8 and 35 mm. It is generally used for non-theatrical (e.g., industrial, edu ...

print was also screened in the United States. Eenadu Daily, Eenadu Sunday – 28 April 2013, 100 years of Indian Cinema, Early Tollywood, Page 9 The film was directed by B. N. Reddy, a recipient of the Dada Saheb Phalke Award, and the Doctor of Letters honour. The industry is one of the largest producers of

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, rangin ...

,

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...

, mythological and melodrama films. Filmmakers like

K. V. Reddy Kadiri Venkata Reddy (1 July 1912 – 15 September 1972) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who primarily worked in Telugu cinema. He is considered as one of the greatest directors in the history of Telugu cinema. He d ...

,

B. Vittalacharya B. Vittalacharya (28 January 1920 – 28 May 1999) was an Indian film director and producer known for his works in Telugu and Kannada cinema. He was known as ''Janapada Brahma'' in the Telugu film industry. Vittalacharya formed his film pr ...

and Kodi Ramakrishna have pioneered this genre. 1956 film Tenali Ramakrishna has garnered the All India Certificate of Merit for Best Feature Film. In 2013, IBN Live's poll cited Mayabazar as the Greatest

Indian film The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, ...

of all time. Relangi, and Ramana Reddy were a comedy double act during this era. '' Nartanasala'' won three awards at the third

Afro-Asian Film Festival The Afro-Asian Film Festival (AAFF) was an International film festival which was held in Tashkent, Cairo, and Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the ...

in

Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the capital city, capital and list of Indonesian cities by population, largest city of Indonesia. Lying on the northwest coa ...

. '' Donga Ramudu'' directed by

K. V. Reddy Kadiri Venkata Reddy (1 July 1912 – 15 September 1972) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who primarily worked in Telugu cinema. He is considered as one of the greatest directors in the history of Telugu cinema. He d ...

was archived in the curriculum of the Film and Television Institute of India. Eenadu Daily, Eenadu cinema – 17 July 2013, National art theater, Page 10 '' Nammina Bantu'' received critical reception at the San Sebastián International Film Festival. 1967 film ''

Ummadi Kutumbam ''Ummadi Kutumbam'' () is a 1967 Indian Telugu-language comedy drama film, produced by N. Trivikrama Rao under the NAT & Ramakrishna Cine Studios banner and directed by D. Yoganand. It stars N. T. Rama Rao, Savitri and Krishna Kumari, with ...

'' was selected by Film Federation of India as one of its entries to the

Moscow Film Festival The Moscow International Film Festival (russian: Моско́вский междунаро́дный кинофестива́ль, translit. ''Moskóvskiy myezhdunaródniy kinofyestivál''; abbreviated as MIFF) is the film festival first h ...

. The 1968 cult classic

Sudigundalu ''Sudigundalu'' () is a 1968 Indian Telugu-language philosophical film, produced by Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Adurthi Subba Rao under the Chakravarthy Chitra banner and directed by Adurthi Subba Rao. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, and has mus ...

was screened at the Tashkent and Moscow Film Festivals. Bapu's directorial venture '' Sakshi'' was showcased at Tashkent International film festival in 1968. In 1976, he directed '' Sita Kalyanam'' got critical acclaim at the BFI London Film Festival and

Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...

, and is part of the curriculum at

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

. ''

Oka Oori Katha ''Oka Oori Katha'' (English title: The Marginal Ones; Telugu: ఒక ఊరి కథ) is a 1977 Indian Telugu-Language drama film directed by Mrinal Sen. The Pan-Indian film is based on the story ''Kafan'' by Munshi Premchand. The film was one ...

'' (1977) won special awards at Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and

Carthage Film Festival The Carthage Film Festival (CFF) is an annual film festival that takes place in Tunis and founded in 1966. It is also called by its abbreviation JCC, from its French name, , or by its Arabic title, (''Cinema Days of Carthage''). Initially bien ...

. ''

Sankarabharanam Sankarabharanam may refer to: * ''Sankarabharanam'' (1980 film), an Indian Telugu-language musical drama film * ''Sankarabharanam'' (2015 film), an Indian Telugu-language crime comedy film * Sankarabharanam (raga) Dhīraśankarābharaṇaṃ, c ...

'' won the Prize of the Public at the Besançon Film Festival of France in the year 1981.

B. Narsing Rao Bongu Narsing Rao (born 1946) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, littérateur, composer, poet, producer, actor and painter known for his works in Telugu cinema, and Telugu theatre. Rao has garnered five National Film Awards, three Nandi ...

scripted and produced '' Maa Bhoomi'' which was showcased at Karlovy Vary Film Festival, and

Cork Film Festival The Cork International Film Festival, also known as the Cork Film Festival (), is a film festival held annually in Cork City Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the ...

s. He directed, '' Daasi'' "(Bonded Woman)" and '' Matti Manushulu'' "(Mud People)" which won the Diploma of Merit awards at the 16th, and 17th Moscow International Film Festivals in 1989 and 1991 respectively. M. V. Raghu's Neo-realistic film '' Kallu'' (1988), scripted by Gollapudi Maruti Rao has received thirty state awards and has garnered special mention from the CBFC Jury.

Rise of Tollywood

Moola Narayana Swamy Moola Narayana Swamy ( 20 August 1950) was an Indian businessman and film producer known for his works in Telugu cinema. He owned several businesses such as Rayalaseema Bank, Rayalaseema Textiles, Cuddapah Ceramics, Cuddapah Electric Company, o ...

and B. N. Reddy founded Vijaya Vauhini Studios in 1948 in the city of

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

.

Indian film The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, ...

doyen

L. V. Prasad Akkineni Laxmi Vara Prasada Rao (17 January 1907 – 22 June 1994), known professionally as L. V. Prasad, was an Indian film director, producer, actor, and businessman. He was one of the pioneers of Indian cinema and is the recipient of the Dad ...

, who started his film career with '' Bhakta Prahlada'', founded

Prasad Studios Prasad Studios & Prasad Film Labs are motion picture post-production studios headquartered in Hyderabad, India, founded by Prasad Group in 1956. The production house has produced over 150 movies in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Hindi. ...

in 1956 based in Chennai. However, through the efforts of

D. V. S. Raju Datla Venkata Suryanarayana Raju, better known as D. V. S. Raju (13 December 1928 – 13 November 2010) was an Indian film producer known for his works in Telugu Cinema and Bollywood. He was instrumental in shifting the Telugu film industry fro ...

, the Telugu film industry completely shifted its base from

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

to

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern Indi ...

in the early 1990s, during N. T. Rama Rao's political reign. Veteran actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao relocated to Hyderabad and has developed

Annapurna Studios Annapurna Studios is an Indian film production company, founded in 1976 by the actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR). Located in the heart of Hyderabad, India the studio mainly provides services for films including sound stages for set construc ...

. The Telugu film industry is one of the three largest film producers in India. About 245 Telugu films were produced in 2006, the highest in India for that year. Film studios in Hyderabad, developed by

D. Ramanaidu Daggubati Ramanaidu (6 June 1936 – 18 February 2015) was an Indian film producer known for his work in Telugu cinema. He founded Suresh Productions in 1964 which became of one of the largest film production companies in India. He was placed ...

and Ramoji Rao, are involved in prolific film production and employment. There is a fair amount of dispersion among the Indian film industries. Since 2005, many successful Telugu films have been largely remade by the Bengali cinema and Hindi film industries, while in the past, Telugu filmmakers drew inspiration from Bengali cinema and literature. Telugu film production accounts for one percent of the gross domestic product of the region. The digital cinema network company

UFO Moviez UFO Moviez India Limited is an Indian digital cinema Digital cinema refers to adoption of digital technology within the film industry to distribute or project motion pictures as opposed to the historical use of reels of motion picture fi ...

marketed by Southern Digital Screenz (SDS) has digitized several cinemas in the region. The Film and Television Institute of Telangana, Film and Television Institute of Andhra Pradesh, Ramanaidu Film School and

Annapurna International School of Film and Media Annapurna College of Film and Media is a Film School based in Hyderabad, India. It's India's first private, non-profit media school. The institute was founded by the Akkineni family, including Nagarjuna and Akkineni Nageswara Rao. ACFM offers co ...

are some of the largest film schools in India. The Telugu states consist of approximately 2800 theaters, the largest number of cinema halls of any state in India. Being commercially consistent, Telugu cinema had its influence over commercial cinema in India. The industry holds the Guinness World Record for the largest film production facility in the world, Ramoji Film City. The ''Prasads IMAX'' located in Hyderabad is one of the largest 3D IMAX screens, and the most attended cinema screen in the world. As per the CBFC report of 2014, the industry is placed first in India, in terms of films produced yearly. The industry holds a memorandum of understanding with the

Motion Picture Association of America The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distrib ...

to combat video piracy. In the years 2005, 2006, 2008, and 2014 the industry has produced the largest number of films in India, exceeding the number of films produced in

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" ...

. 1992 film ''

Gharana Mogudu ''Gharana Mogudu'' () is a 1992 Indian Telugu-language romantic drama film directed by K. Raghavendra Rao. The film stars Chiranjeevi, Nagma and Vani Viswanath with Rao Gopal Rao and Kaikala Satyanarayana in supporting roles. Music is compo ...

'' is the first Telugu film to gross over 10 crore at the box office. Produced on a shoe string budget of 1.2 crore 2000 film '' Nuvve Kavali'' became

sleeper hit In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit is a film, television series, music release, video game, or some other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release but became a success later on. A sleeper hit may have little prom ...

of the late 1990s. It received an estimated foot fall for 200 days in 20 screens grossing over 20 crore.

Neo Tollywood

Dasari Narayana Rao Dasari Narayana Rao (4 May 1947 – 30 May 2017) was an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, lyricist, and politician known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema, in addition to Hindi cinema. He has directed more than 150 ...

directed the most number of films in the Telugu language, exploring themes such as aesthestics in '' Meghasandesam'' (1982),

Battle of Bobbili The Battle of Bobbili, and the attack on the fort of Bobbili on 24 January 1757, is a significant historical event in Princely state of Vizianagaram, the present day Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh. Tandra Paparayudu was the Army Genera ...

in the biographical war film '' Tandra Paparayudu'' (1986), alternate history with ''

Sardar Papa Rayudu ''Sardar Papa Rayudu'' is a 1980 Indian Telugu-language historical fiction film written and directed by Dasari Narayana Rao about an Indian revolutionary "Sardar Papa Rayudu" and his fight against the British Raj. Produced by Kranthi Kumar, st ...

'' (1980), and gender discrimination in '' Kante Koothurne Kanu'' (1998) for which he received the Special Jury Award (Feature Film - Director) at the

46th National Film Awards The 46th National Film Awards, presented by Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 1998. Ceremony took place on 15 ...

. K. Raghavendra Rao explored devotional themes with ''

Agni Putrudu ''Agni Putrudu'' () is a 1987 Indian Telugu-language action film, produced by Venkat Akkineni under the Annapurna Studios banner and directed by K. Raghavendra Rao. It stars Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Nagarjuna, Sarada, Rajani and Sivaji Ganesa ...

'' (1987), '' Annamayya'' (1997), ''

Sri Manjunatha Manjunath is another name for the Hindu deity Shiva. It may also refer to: People * B. C. Manjunath, Indian classical musician/percussionist * Shanmugam Manjunath (1978–2005), Indian marketing manager murdered for his stand against corruption ...

'' (2001), ''

Sri Ramadasu ''Sri Ramadasu'' is 2006 Indian Telugu-language biographical film, based on the life of musician saint ''Kancharla Gopanna'', produced by Konda Krishnam Raju on Aditya Movies banner and directed by K. Raghavendra Rao. Starring Akkineni Nageswar ...

'' (2006), ''

Shirdi Sai ''Shirdi Sai'' is a 2012 Indian Telugu-language biographical film, produced by A.Mahesh Reddy on AMR Sai Krupa Entertainments banner, directed by K. Raghavendra Rao. Starring Nagarjuna as the 19th-20th century spiritual guru Sai Baba of Shirdi ...

'' (2012) and '' Om Namo Venkatesaya'' (2017) receiving various state honors.

Singeetam Srinivasa Rao Singeetam Srinivasa Rao (born 21 September 1931), commonly known as Singeetam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, composer, and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the most versatile directors of India. He is credited with hav ...

introduced

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

to the Telugu screen with '' Aditya 369'' (1991), the film dealt with exploratory dystopian and apocalyptic themes. The edge of the seat thriller had characters which stayed human, inconsistent and insecure. The film's narrative takes the audience into the

post apocalyptic Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which the Earth's (or another planet's) civilization is collapsing or has collapsed. The apocalypse event may be climatic, such as runaway climate change; ast ...

experience through time travel, as well as

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, rangin ...

generation of 1500 A.D, which including a romantic backstory, the "Time Machine" made it a brilliant work of fiction. Ram Gopal Varma's '' Siva'', which attained cult status in Telugu cinema, is one of the first Telugu films produced after the migration of Telugu film industry from Madras to Hyderabad to feature characters speaking the

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 35 ...

dialect. Varma was credited with the introduction of steadicams and new sound recording techniques in Telugu films. Within a year of the film's release, more than ten steadicams were imported into India. ''Siva'' attracted the young audience during its theatrical run, and its success encouraged filmmakers to explore a variety of themes and make experimental Telugu films. Subsequently, Varma introduced road movie and film-noir to Indian screen with '' Kshana Kshanam''. Varma experimented with close-to-life performances by the lead actors, which bought a rather fictional storyline a sense of authenticity at a time when the industry was being filled with unnecessary commercial fillers. It went on to gather a

cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

in south India, with a dubbed

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

version titled ''Hairaan'' released to positive reports from

bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" ...

critics, the

Ann Arbor Film Festival The Ann Arbor Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Ann Arbor in the U.S. state of Michigan. Established in 1963, it is the fourth-oldest film festival in North America (after the Yorkton Film Festival, 1947; Columbus International Fil ...

, and the Fribourg Festival.

Chiranjeevi Chiranjeevi (born Konidela Sivasankara Varaprasad; 22 August 1955) is an Indian actor, film producer and former politician, who predominantly works in Telugu cinema. Chiranjeevi starred in over 150 feature films in Telugu, as well as some film ...

's works such as the comedy thriller, ''

Chantabbai ''Chantabbai'' () is a 1986 Indian Telugu-language comedy drama film written and directed by Jandhyala. It is based on the novel of same name by Malladi Venkata Krishna Murthy. Produced by Jyothi Art Pictures, the film stars Chiranjeevi and Suh ...

'', the vigilante thriller, '' Kondaveeti Donga'' the first Telugu film to be released on a 70 mm 6-Track

Stereophonic sound Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

, the western thriller ''

Kodama Simham ''Kodama Simham'' () is a 1990 Indian Telugu-language revisionist western action film directed by K. Murali Mohana Rao, starring Chiranjeevi, Mohan Babu, Sonam, Radha, and Pran in pivotal roles. The film was simultaneously dubbed into Englis ...

'', and the action thriller, '' Gang Leader'', popularized genre films with the highest estimated footfall. Reddiff.com cited Sekhar Kammula's, National Award-winning ''

Dollar Dreams ''Dollar Dreams'' is a 2000 Indian drama film written, directed and produced by Sekhar Kammula. Primarily shot in Telugu and English, the film starred Santosh Kumar, Anish Kuruvilla, Ravi Raju, Anil Prashant, Dashveer Singh, Priyanka Veer, and ...

'' (2000) as a take off from where Nagesh Kukunoor's ''

Hyderabad Blues ''Hyderabad Blues'' is a 1998 Indian drama film written, directed, and produced by Nagesh Kukunoor. Primarily shot in the English language, the film explores culture clash from an Indian American's perspective, vacationing back home in Hyderab ...

'' (1998) ends. Dollar Dreams explored the conflict between American dreams and human feelings. The film re-introduced Social realism to Telugu screen, and brought back its lost glory which until then was stuck in its run of the mill commercial pot-boilers. '' Vanaja'' (2006) won several international awards including the first prize in the live-action feature film category at the Chicago International Children's Film Festival. '' Dream'' (2012), has garnered the Royal Reel Award at the

Canada International Film Festival The Edgewater Casino is a former casino that was located at 760 Pacific Blvd South Vancouver, British Columbia. It was in operation from 2005 to 2017. History The Edgwater Casino opened in February 2005. In 2006, the casino was acquired by Par ...

. 2013

Social problem film A social problem film is a narrative film that integrates a larger social conflict into the individual conflict between its characters. In the context of the United States and of Hollywood, the genre is defined by fictionalized depictions of soci ...

, '' Naa Bangaaru Talli'' won Best Film award at the Trinity International Film Festival in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, and four Awards at the Indonesian International Film Festival. 2014 film ''

Minugurulu ''Minugurulu'' () is a 2012 Indian Telugu-language social problem film co-written and directed by Ayodhyakumar Krishnamsetty. The film stars Ashish Vidyarthi, Suhasini Maniratnam, Raghubir Yadav and Deepak Saroj. The film was selected as Best In ...

'' was selected as ''Best Indian Film'' at the 9th ''India International Children's Film Festival'', held at

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

. 2013 Cultural film, ''

O Friend, This Waiting! ''O Friend, This Waiting!'' is a 2012 Indian, bilingual documentary film in Telugu and English written and directed by Sandhya Kumar, based on the poetry of 17th century Telugu composer Kshetrayya. For its wholly unconventional investigation o ...

'' has received special mention at the ''Erasing Borders'' Festival of Classical Dance,

Indo-American Arts Council The Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC) is an American non-profit cultural organization that promotes Indian theatre, art, film, fashion, music, dance, and literature in the United States. The Council was established in 1998 in New York City and is h ...

, New York, 2013. 2014 film ''Parampara'' has garnered the ''Platinum Award for Best Feature'' at the International Indonesian Movie Awards. 2018 biographical film ''

Mahanati ''Mahanati'' () is a 2018 Indian Telugu-language biographical drama film based on the life of actress Savitri. It is written and directed by Nag Ashwin, and produced by Priyanka Dutt under Vyjayanthi Movies and Swapna Cinema. The film feat ...

'' based on the life of veteran actress Savitri has garnered the "Equality in Cinema Award" at the 2018 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne. During the 1990s, the

Rayalaseema Rayalaseema () is a geographic region in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It comprises eight south western districts of the State namely, Kurnool, Nandyal, Anantapur, Sri Sathya Sai, YSR, Annamayya, Tirupati and Chittoor districts ...

dialect was portrayed in films about the factional conflicts in the area, while the Telangana dialect, already having been pegged to villanous and comedic roles, saw an increase in this usage in reaction to the shift of the Telugu film production from Madras to Hyderabad. After the formation of the state of

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 35 ...

in 2014, Telangana culture gained more prominence, and more films were produced portraying Telangana culture, and dialect.

Sub-Genres and off beat films

Screenwriters such as Chandra Sekhar Yeleti experimented with the off beat film ''

Aithe ''Aithe...'' () is a 2003 Indian Telugu-language thriller film written and directed by Chandra Sekhar Yeleti, and produced by Gangaraju Gunnam under his studio Just Yellow. It stars debutants Mohit Chadda, Shashank, , Janardhan, and Sindhu Tola ...

'' (2003) with a caption "all movies are not the same". Aithe was made on a shoestring budget of about 1.5 crores and went on to collect more than 6 crores. After almost two years he delivered another thriller '' Anukokunda Oka Roju'' (2005) both films were a refreshing change of pace to the audiences, produced by Gangaraju Gunnam. Aithe was remade in Tamil as '' Naam'' (2003) and in Malayalam as ''Wanted'' (2004). Mohana Krishna Indraganti explored the themes of chastity, and adultery in his literary adaption ''Grahanam'' (2004) (based on "Gunadosham" by social critic Chalam (writer), G. V. Chalam). Grahanam was shot in 19 days with a digital camera. B. Anuradha of Rediff.com cited "In this offbeat film, Indraganti upholds the tirade against chauvinists who accuse a noble lady of infidelity, ignoring her denials with contempt". The film was featured at the ISAFF, Independent South Asian Film Festival in the United States. Speaking about the centenary of Indian cinema at the CII Media and Entertainment Summit 2012, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur said regional cinema is surpassing Hindi cinema in content and story, and cited ''Eega'' (2012) as an example. Kapur said he was impressed with its story and use of technology, and called it "no less than a Hollywood superhero film". Shah Rukh Khan called ''Eega'' an "awesomely original" film and a "must watch" with children. ''Eega'' won the Most Original Film honor at the Toronto After Dark Film Festival#2013, 8th Toronto After Dark Film Festival. Sub Genre war drama ''Kanche'' (2015) by Krish (director), Krish Jagarlamudi explored the 1944 Nazi attack on the Indian army in the Italian campaign (World War II), Italian campaign, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

in an engrossing background tale of caste-ism while giving it a technically brilliant cinematic rendition. Sankalp Reddy explored submarine warfare in his directorial debut ''Ghazi (film), Ghazi'' (2017), based on the mysterious altercation between PNS Ghazi and INS Karanj (S21), INS Karanj during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Indo-Asian News Service called new-generation film maker Sandeep Vanga's Arjun Reddy the "most original, experimental work to come out of Telugu cinema in a long time", and said the protagonist's (played by Vijay Deverakonda) "rise, fall and rise ... is nothing short of poetic and heart wrenching". Actor-dancer Allu Arjun produced and acted in the short film, ''I Am That Change'' (2014), to spread awareness on individual social responsibility. The movie was directed by Sukumar (director), Sukumar, which was screened in theatres across

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

and

Telangana Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 35 ...

on Indian Independence day, 2014. Adivi Sesh scripted the Neo-noir ''Kshanam'' (2016), based on a real life incident of a missing three-year-old girl. Sesh followed it up writing Research and Analysis Wing, R.A.W. thriller ''Goodachari'' (2018), and the war docudrama ''Major (film), Major'' (2022). ''Cinema Bandi'' (2022) scripted and directed by Praveen Kandregula, and produced by film making duo Raj Nidimoru and Krishna D.K., Raj & D. K.; explored the theme of how a lost camera fuels dreams in a Telugu hamlet, winning the IFFI Special Jury Award and Special Mention, Jury Special Mention at the 53rd International Film Festival of India, 53rd IFFI.

Spread to World markets

''Athadu'' was released with 6 prints in United States and was distributed by Vishnu Mudda and Soma Kancherla of Crown DVD distribution company in San Jose, California, San Jose, Dallas,

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, Virginia, New Jersey, Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix at Arizona and also in centers like Lowell, Massachusetts, Lowell at Massachusetts, Massachusetts, MA, Tulsa, Oklahoma, Tulsa at Oklahoma, West Virginia, Springfield, Illinois, Springfield, Boulder, Colorado, Boulder at Colorado and Corpus Christi, Texas, Corpus Christi at South Texas. Because of the demand, another print was imported from India for screening. The film's first screening in USA happened at Cine Plaza 13 at North Bergen on the night of 11 August 2005. At Connecticut, a special screening was conducted on 19 August 2005. Initially one show was planned but because of the demand another show was screened. There at the theater, a turn out of 442 people was observed which included standing audience for 434 seats and about 60 could not be accommodated. Apart from USA, the film released in selected screens in United Kingdom, Singapore, Germany and Australia. ''Bommarillu'' was released worldwide with 72 prints. Owing to its success, the number of reels grew to about hundred. It collected a distributors share of 5 crore in its opening week in India. Released in six major metros in the United States, the film collected $73,200 (then approximately 0.3 crore) within the first four days of screening. A 2006 survey conducted by a popular entertainment portal in the United States revealed that the film was watched by an Indian expatriate population of 65,000, which generated a revenue of 3 crore at that time. A cumulative gross revenue for the film was reported to be as 25 crore including 3.5 crore from overseas, the largest for any Telugu film at that time. Owing to this path breaking trade, the film was remade into Tamil cinema, Tamil, Cinema of West Bengal, Bengali, Oriya language, Oriya and Urdu/

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

. 2006 action film, ''Pokiri (2006 film), Pokiri'' has been remade in Hindi, Tamil and Kannada in the following two years owing to the film's commercial success. It was screened at the International Indian Film Academy, IIFA film festival held in Dubai in 2006. Walt Disney Pictures co-produced ''Anaganaga O Dheerudu'', making it the first South Indian production by Disney. ''Dookudu'' was released among seventy nine screens in the United States, the ''Los Angeles Times'' quoted it as ''The biggest hit you've never heard of.'' In the rest of north, east and west India, it opened up in 21 cities. The film set a box office record by collecting a gross of more than 1 billion at the time. On 1 June 2022, '' RRR'' was screened in over 100 theatres across the United States for a one night event called "''#encoRRRe''". Speaking to ''Deadline Hollywood'', Dylan Marchetti of Variance Films said that "With more than 250 films coming out of India annually, ''RRR'' could be a gateway drug". ''Nashville Scene''s Jason Shawhan wrote about the event that "the nationwide encore of ''RRR'' is American audiences reaching with outstretched arms to something so exciting and rock-solid entertaining that its success already happened without insular traditional media even mentioning it. This isn't America dipping a toe in Indian cinema — it's a victory lap". Filmmaker S. S. Rajamouli has been signed by American talent agency Creative Artists Agency, owing to RRR being the only non-English-language film to trend globally on Netflix Platform for 10 consecutive weeks.

Cast and crew

V. Nagayya was one of the most influential method actors of Indian cinema during crown rule. Vemuri Gaggaiah, Kalyanam Raghuramaiah, Rajanala Nageswara Rao, R. Nageswara Rao, C. S. R. Anjaneyulu, C.S.R. Anjaneyulu, Yadavalli Suryanarayana, C. H. Narayana Rao, Mudigonda Lingamurthy etc., are some of the finest method actors during the golden era. S. V. Ranga Rao won Best Actor Award for his portrayal of Kichaka in Nartanasala at the third

Afro-Asian Film Festival The Afro-Asian Film Festival (AAFF) was an International film festival which was held in Tashkent, Cairo, and Jakarta Jakarta (; , bew, Jakarte), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta ( id, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta) is the ...

held in Jakarta. Adurthi Subba Rao, garnered seven National Film Awards (India), National Film Awards, for his pioneering work on drama films.

K. N. T. Sastry Kanaala Nanjunda Tirumala Sastry (5 September 1945 – 13 September 2018) was an Indian film critic, screenwriter, director, littérateur, and producer, known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He has garnered six National Film Awards ...

and Pattabhirama Reddy Tikkavarapu, Pattabhirama Reddy have garnered international recognition for their works in neo-realistic cinema. Akkineni Kutumba Rao, A. Kutumba Rao is known for directing childrens films such as ''Bhadram Koduko'', ''Thodu'', and ''Paatha Nagaramlo Pasivadu'' the latter winning Cairo International Film Festival's, Merit Certificate for best feature. Jandhyala (filmmaker), Jandhyala, and Trivikram Srinivas are known for screwball comedy, and Action comedy film, action comedy. A. Sreekar Prasad garnered pan-India recognition for film editing across multiple languages. Krishna (Telugu actor), Krishna Ghattamaneni is credited with producing many technological firsts such as the first cinemascope film Alluri Seetarama Raju (film), Alluri Seetarama Raju, first 70mm film ''Simhasanam (1986 film), Simhasanam'', first DTS (sound system), DTS film ''Telugu Veera Levara'' (1988) and introducing Western (genre), cowboy and James Bond, bond movie styles to the Telugu screen. Sharada (actress), Sharada, Archana (actress), Archana, Vijayashanti, Rohini (actress), Rohini, Keerthy Suresh, P. L. Narayana, and Nagarjuna (actor), Nagarjuna received the National Film Awards (India), National Film Award for acting.

Chiranjeevi Chiranjeevi (born Konidela Sivasankara Varaprasad; 22 August 1955) is an Indian actor, film producer and former politician, who predominantly works in Telugu cinema. Chiranjeevi starred in over 150 feature films in Telugu, as well as some film ...

, was listed among "The men who changed the face of the Indian Cinema" by CNN-IBN, IBN-live India. Brahmanandam, holds a Guinness World Record for acting in the most films in the same language. Vijayachander acted and produced hagiographical films, he esaayed "Jesus of Nazareth" in ''Karunamayudu'' (1978), "Sai Baba of Shirdi" in ''Sri Shirdi Saibaba Mahathyam'' (1986), "Vemana" in ''Vemana Charithra'' (1986), and "Saint Paul" in ''Dayamayudu'' (1987). Mohan Babu is starred in more than 500 feature films in a variety of antagonist roles.

Cinematography and visual effects

V. N. Reddy, K. S. Prasad, Jaya Krishna Gummadi, Jaya Gummadi, Sudhakar Reddy Yakkanti, Sudhakar Yakkanti, and Rajendra Prasad (filmmaker), C. Rajendra Prasad garnered pan India recognition for their cinematographic works. Enhanced technology among live action animation, digital compositing, and special effects paved the way for upgrading from established cinematic norms. Visual effects based high fantasy works have tasted success. Pete Draper, P. C. Sanath, Chakri Toleti and V. Srinivas Mohan supervise visual effects.

Film critics and jury members

Vasiraju Prakasam and

K. N. T. Sastry Kanaala Nanjunda Tirumala Sastry (5 September 1945 – 13 September 2018) was an Indian film critic, screenwriter, director, littérateur, and producer, known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He has garnered six National Film Awards ...

are one of the noted Indian Film criticism, film critics from the state. B. S. Narayana was a member of the Indian delegation to the ''Tashkent Film Festival'' in 1974, and the ''Moscow International Film Festival'' in 1975. Gummadi (actor), Gummadi, served as official member of the Indian delegation from South India to the ''Tashkent Film Festival'' in 1978 and 1982. He served as the Jury Member thrice for the 28th National Film Awards, 28th, 33rd National Film Awards, 33rd, and 39th National Film Awards. Chandra Siddhartha served in South Jury at the 57th National Film Awards, 57th, 61st National Film Awards, 61st and 65th National Film Awards, as well as the 49th International Film Festival of India, 49th IFFI.

Film Score

Singer Sripathi Panditaradhyula Balasubramanyam

Sri Sri (writer), Sri Sri was one of the influential film lyricists of his time, who garnered national honors such as Sahitya Akademi Award, National Film Award for Best Lyrics, Best Lyricist and Soviet Land Nehru Award for his pioneering work. Susarla Dakshinamurthi, Parupalli Ramakrishnaiah Pantulu, Ogirala Ramachandra Rao, Pithapuram Nageswara Rao, Tanguturi Suryakumari, and Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna are some of the influential music composers of Southern Indian cinema. Music composers such as Pendyala Nageswara Rao, R. Sudarshanam and R. Goverdhanam made contributions to folklore and mythological films. Madhavapeddi Satyam, P. Adinarayana Rao, Gali Penchala Narasimha Rao, Chellapilla Satyam, P. B. Sreenivas, S. P. Kodandapani, G. K. Venkatesh, S. Hanumantha Rao, have contributed their work extensively for films containing themes of social relevance. S.P. Balasubrahmanyam is a multilingual playback singer from Telugu cinema to win National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer, National Film Awards across four languages. He holds the record of having recorded more songs than any other male playback singer and has received 25 state Nandi Awards. S. Rajeswara Rao pioneered the use of light music in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode ...

cinema; Rao's most rewarding assignments came from Gemini Studios, which he joined in 1940 and with which he remained for a decade. Ghantasala (musician), Ghantasala, performed in the United States, England, and Germany. According to ''The Hindu'', and ''The Indian Express'' he was "Such a divine talent and with his songs he could move the hearts of the people. Ghantasala's blending of classical improvisations to the art of light music combined with his virtuosity and sensitivity puts him a class apart, above all others in the field of playback singing". P. Susheela, has been recognized by both the ''Guinness Book of World Records'' and the ''Asia Book of Records'' for singing most songs in Indian languages. She is also the recipient of five National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer and numerous state awards. Works by S. Janaki, M. M. Keeravani, and Ramesh Naidu have received national recognition. K. S. Chithra, K. S. Chitra has received highest Nandi awards for best female playback singer. Multi-instrumentalists duo Raj–Koti holds a notable career spanning a decade, the duo has garnered particular acclaim for redefining contemporary music. R. P. Patnaik is the current president of the Telugu Cine Music Association.

Nandi Awards

The Nandi Awards is the most prominent government funded award ceremony for excellence in the production of Telugu film, theatre and television. It is presented annually at Lalitha Kala Thoranam in

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern Indi ...

previously, by the Film, Television and Theatre Development Corporation of Andhra Pradesh. "Nandi" means "bull", the awards being named after the big granite bull at Lepakshi — a cultural and historical symbol of the Telugu culture.

Guinness records

* Guinness Record had been awarded to Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad as the largest film studio complex in the world, it opened in 1996 and measures 674 hectares (1,666 acres). With 47 sound stages, it has permanent sets ranging from railway stations to temples. * D.Rama Naidu holds the Guinness World Record as the most prolific producer with 130 films. *

Dasari Narayana Rao Dasari Narayana Rao (4 May 1947 – 30 May 2017) was an Indian film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, lyricist, and politician known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema, in addition to Hindi cinema. He has directed more than 150 ...

holds the Guinness World Record as the most films directed with 151 films. * Brahmanandam holds the Guinness World Record for acting in the most films in a single language, 1000+ films. * S. P. Balasubrahmanyam holds the Guinness World Record for having sung the most songs for any male playback singer in the world, with the majority of his songs sung in Telugu. * In 2002, the Guinness Book of Records named Vijaya Nirmala as the female director with the most films, having made 47 films. In a career spanning approximately two decades, she has acted in over 200 films with 25 each in Malayalam and Tamil and produced 15 films. * In 2016, P. Susheela entered the Guinness Book of World Records for recording the highest number of songs in musical history.

Dubbed films

The 1949 film ''Keelu Gurram'' was the first Telugu film to be dubbed into the Tamil language, being subsequently released under the name ''Maya Kudhirai''. According to the Andhra Pradesh Film Chamber of Commerce, "as per the Judgement of Supreme Court in Ashirwad Films in W.P.(Civil) No.709 there will be no difference in taxation of films between the dubbed films coming in from other states and the films produced in the Telugu States". ''Aarya'' movie was later dubbed to Malayalam.

Distribution

The Telugu-speaking areas are broadly divided into three areas for the purposes of Film Distribution, namely, Nizam, Ceded and Andhra. Nizam alone contributes to nearly 45% of the revenue.

Telugu film distribution territories

Apart from the above, there is also an emerging Overseas territory, especially United States which accounts for a significant amount of revenue.

Awards

National Film Award for Best Feature Film Recipients Dadasaheb Phalke awardees State awards * Nandi Awards * Raghupathi Venkaiah Award * NTR National Award * B. N. Reddy National Award * Nandi Award for Best Character Actor, S. V. Ranga Rao Award for Best Character Actor * Nandi Award for Akkineni Award for Best Home-viewing Feature Film, Akkineni Award for Best Home-viewing Feature Film * Nagi Reddy Chakrapani National Award Other major film awards * Filmfare Awards South * IIFA Utsavam * South Indian International Movie Awards Regional awards * Sangam Academy Award * Chittoor Nagayya Puraskaram * CineMAA Awards * Allu Rama Lingaiah Award * Gollapudi Srinivas Award * B. Nagi Reddy Wholesome Entertainment Film * Tollywood GAAMA Awards * Gemini Ugadi Puraskaralu * Hyderabad Times Film Awards * Vamsee Berkely Awards * Akruti Film Awards * FNCC Awards * Andhra Pradesh Film Journalist's Association Awards * Santosham Film Awards * T. Subbarami Reddy Award * ANR National Award * Sakshi Excellence Awards

Studios

Major Filmmaking studios * Ramanaidu Studios * Saradhi Studios * Ramakrishna Studios * Padmalaya Studios *

Annapurna Studios Annapurna Studios is an Indian film production company, founded in 1976 by the actor Akkineni Nageswara Rao (ANR). Located in the heart of Hyderabad, India the studio mainly provides services for films including sound stages for set construc ...

* Ramoji Film City Visual effects and animation studios * Prasad Studios, Prasad EFX – Magic in motion * Pixelloid Studios * Fire Fly Creative Studios * Makuta VFX

Notes

References

External links

{{World cinema Telugu cinema Telugu film families Economy of Andhra Pradesh Economy of Telangana Culture of Andhra Pradesh Culture of Telangana Telugu language Film production districts

History

Early development

Rise of the "talkie"

Cinema during the Crown Rule

Classical cinema and Golden Age

Rise of Tollywood

Neo Tollywood

Sub-Genres and off beat films

Spread to World markets

Cast and crew

Cinematography and visual effects

Film critics and jury members

Film Score

Nandi Awards

Guinness records

Dubbed films

Distribution

Telugu film distribution territories

Awards

Studios

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links