Is flop-proofing a myth in Tollywood?

Pawan Kalyan spent a whopping 11 years without a hit and colleague Mahesh Babu spent close to five years waiting for success.

So, why are they still top stars?

While the rest of the human race still looks for that elusive immortality, Tollywood male stars seem to have found it. It doesn't matter how well their films fare or how many flops they deliver in a row, the audience still loves them!

After the 2006 blockbuster ‘Pokiri’, Mahesh Babu didn't have another hit for years.

Even after ‘Athidhi’ in 2007, the superstar was idle for three years before beginning ‘Khaleja’ in 2010. He came back with a bang in 2011 with ‘Dookudu’, and followed it up with two more hits.

Now, he's the top contender for the No. 1 spot in Tollywood, with Pawan Kalyan. His fan-following continues to increase irrespective of how his films fare at the box office. In the case of ‘Mega’ star Pawan Kalyan, it took him eleven long years and the release of ‘Gabbar Singh’ to repeat the success of his 2001 hit ‘Khushi’. But his fan base kept expanding and now with his latest blockbuster ‘Atharintiki Daredi’, there's no telling where it will go.

“We are all lucky that our Telugu audiences always support us. Even stars whose films continuously flop are never abandoned by their fans.

All they need is one more hit to bounce back into the limelight,” remarks Venkatesh, who has enjoyed a large female fan following ever since his first film.

Director B. Jaya says, “Most of the actors belong to big film families and producers are willing to bank on them. Besides, Telugu film fans are also community based,” she points out.

Even young star Naga Chaitanya went through a low phase after his 2011 hit ‘100% Love’. His next success came with the recently released ‘Thadaka’, ensuring that he now has at least half a dozen more films in the pipeline.

Of course, the same cannot be said about other unfortunate actors, who never make it back to the top. For instance, Uday Kiran and Tarun both delivered hits at the beginning of their careers but are now struggling.

T-TOWN STARS' HITS & MISSES

• Pawan Kalyan's first hit film was ‘Khushi’ in 2001, followed with ‘Gabbar Singh’ in 2012.
• After ‘Pokiri’ in 2006, Mahesh Babu's next hit was only in 2011 with ‘Dookudu.
• NTR Jr's 2003 hit ‘Simhadri’ was followed in 2010 by ‘Adhurs’.
• Allu Arjun's ‘Desamuduru’ was released in 2007, and his next success was in 2012, ‘Julyai’.
• Balakrishna had a hit in 2004 with ‘Lakshmi Narasimha’, and his next success came with ‘Simha’ in 2010.
• Prabhas tasted his first success with ‘Chatrapathi’ in 2005, and repeated the same with ‘Darling’ in 2010.