Hindu Gods smiling on Tollywood

Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar plays Lord Shiva in his latest Telugu film Kannappa, and he is reprising his godly act after the success of his Hindi film Oh My God 2.
“I was blessed by Lord Shiva, and I commenced shooting for the film this year, although I was scouting for locations after being impressed with the script of Kannappa many years ago,” says actor-producer Vishnu Manchu after releasing the trailer. “It is a historical film that happened in the 2nd century, not a mythological film. In our extensive research, we learned that a disciple offered meat to Lord Shiva in the 7th century in Srisailam and also revered King Krishna Devaraya, who also honoured Shiva Bhakt Kannappa, so it’s a real-life story,” he added.

Director Prashanth Varma previously enjoyed huge success with his film HanuMan, which revolved around Lord Hanuman, and it appears that Hindu gods are gracing Tollywood. Even megastar Chiranjeevi’s forthcoming film Vishvambhara features a huge Hanuman statue in its first look.

Talking about his Rs 100-core blockbuster HanuMan, new-age director Prashanth Varma says, “I was always eager to make a socio-fantasy movie. It has to be something like a 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 could always churn out mythological movies. “Telugu filmmakers were far ahead and delivered devotional and mythological movies with ease. Telugu makers are adept at dishing out mythology stories engagingly without distorting our culture and traditions,” he adds.

Previously, revered gods such as Lord Krishna were included in Telugu films, reviving the socio-fantasy genre significantly. Instead of making traditional devotional films about Hindu gods, new-generation directors are transforming them into socio-fantasies in order to appeal to younger viewers. Apparently, Karthikeya 2 lit up the Indian movie office and discussed Lord Krishna’s enigma.

“Honestly, I didn’t want to set any trend or intend to change the face of Telugu cinema when I started Karthikeya 2,” says director Chandoo Mondeti, whose Karthikeya 2 showcased the invincible power of Lord Krishna. “I have always been fascinated with Lord Krishna since my childhood and have wondered about his enormous skills. He constructed a city called Dwarka to protect his people from enemies through air or water. Then he designed his weapon, the Sudarshan Chakra, which has 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,” he adds.

Director Dolly, who cast superstar Pawan Kalyan as Lord Krishna in his much-anticipated smash Gopala Gopala, made money at the Telugu box office a few years back.

“Pawan Kalyan has the charisma to pull off such roles. Along with his larger-life image, his smile and energetic performance breathed life into the role of Lord Krishna,” he concludes.