Multi-Talented Heroes, But Where Are the Hits?

A new pattern is clearly visible among young Telugu heroes. Acting alone isn’t enough for them, as they want to write, direct, produce, and control everything.

Look at the list:

Vishwak Sen juggling acting, writing, direction, and production.

Siddhu Jonnalagadda stepping into writing and occasionally direction.

Naveen Polishetty working on scripts alongside acting.

Adivi Sesh deeply involved in writing and creative control.

Even names like Manchu Vishnu, Kiran Abbavaram and Ram Pothineni are exploring multiple departments like writing, production, lyrics of songs, singing and other things.

On paper, this looks exciting to read, as the heroes will have creative ownership and personalised storytelling with less dependency on writers. In fact, it even reduces the burden on writers from beating their heads, which is a positive shift. But here’s the uncomfortable truth.

Except for one or two films, this “I-will-do-everything” approach has rarely worked. Because cinema’s result doesn’t care about efforts, the audience rewards only a product that entertains them. When one person, especially the hero, handles everything, the biggest risk is a lack of filtration. There will be no one to question, none to challenge, and none will say “this isn’t working.”

If we look at the latest released films of the heroes above, one could see how writing lacks clarity and direction, and is almost absent. Only one film worked due to the trust factor on the hero, and another worked due to the holiday-season factor, while other movies ended up as scrap at the box office.

Guess what, most of these heroes aren’t even good at multiple roles, and their acting and body language almost sound similar in all the films. Rather than juggling between too many departments, maybe some of these heroes should focus on acting itself.