Do Really Telugu Audiences Prefer Only Commercial Movies?

Telugu cinema has always been known for big commercial entertainers. Songs, fights, comedy, emotions and a strong hero character have been an important part of many successful Telugu films. But are Telugu audiences interested only in commercial movies? This question has now become a topic of discussion after actor Sri Vishnu’s recent comments.

Sri Vishnu has been actively promoting his upcoming film Comrade Kalyan. As usual, he has been entertaining audiences with his natural humour and funny answers during interviews. During one of the promotions, he was asked about the film and what kind of movie it would be.

Sri Vishnu jokingly said that Comrade Kalyan is a proper comedy film. He also said that if the film had too many emotions or a serious message, it should probably have been made in Malayalam first and then wrongly remade in Telugu. His comment was said in a humorous way but some people took it negatively.

The comment soon went viral on social media. Some viewers felt that Sri Vishnu was saying that Telugu audiences do not accept emotional films. Because of this, Sri Vishnu has been asked about the same comment in several interviews. In a recent interview, he explained what he actually meant.

Sri Vishnu said that his statement was misunderstood. He said that a large section of Telugu audiences traditionally enjoys commercial cinema. At the same time, Malayalam cinema has a long history of making strong family dramas, realistic stories and emotional films.

He explained that Malayalam audiences have been exposed to different kinds of cinema for many years. Even before the popularity of stars like Mohanlal and Mammootty, Malayalam cinema had many emotional and story driven films. Films where the hero had less importance or even died were also accepted by the audience.

Sri Vishnu said that Telugu cinema has different roots. Commercial elements have traditionally played a major role here, especially when a big star is involved. Fans usually expect the hero to have a powerful role.

Sree Vishnu is definitely acceptable. But things are slowly changing. Today, many young and middle-range Telugu heroes are choosing different scripts. They are giving more importance to stories, emotions and unique characters instead of depending only on commercial formulas.

Only in Star hero movies even now directors are struggling to inject commercial elements. But coming to small heroes, they are changing the Tollywood trend by concentrating more on story rather than commercial elements.