Cinemania’s Top 10 Telugu Films of 2022
Last updated: 31 December 2022
The Telugu film industry has had a mixed year at the box office with one film – RRR – emerging as a global blockbuster with a worldwide gross of over ₹1200 crores and seven films (Sarkaru Vaari Paata, Bheemla Nayak, Radhe Shyam, F2, Karthikeya 2, Sita Ramam and Godfather) grossing between ₹100 – ₹200 crores.
The vast majority of medium to big-budget Telugu projects including Khiladi, Radhe Shyam, Acharya, Ghani, The Ghost, Thank You and The Warriorr and Macherla Niyojakavargam underperformed at the box office.
Below is Cinemania’s pick of Top 10 Telugu Films in 2022:
10
Film: Ashoka Vanamlo Arjuna Kalyanam
Directed by: Vidya Sagar Chinta
Cast: Vishwak Sen, Rukshar Dhillon and Ritika Nayak
Produced by: SVCC Digital
Release Date: 6 May 2022
Streaming on: aha
Cinemania’s rating: ★★★☆☆
Directed by Vidya Sagar Chinta in his directorial debut, Ashoka Vanamlo Arjuna Kalyanam follows Arjun Kumar Allam (Vishwak Sen), a man in his thirties, who visits the village of Ashokapuram with his family for his engagement with Madhavi Pasupuleti (Rukshar Dhillon). He gets the shock of his life when Madhavi, who isn’t interested in the wedding (and has been forced by her parents to accept Arjun as her life partner), elopes with her boyfriend. Arjun and his family’s attempts to leave the village are thwarted by the Covid-19 lockdown and they are forced spend more time with the Pasupuleti family leading to awkward situations.
Despite its cliched storyline, Ashoka Vanamlo Arjuna Kalyanam is a refreshing family entertainer with an interesting screenplay (Ravi Kiran Kola), good performances and foot-tapping music (Jay Krish).
9
Film: DJ Tillu
Directed by: Vimal Krishna
Cast: Siddhu Jonnalagadda, Neha Shetty, Prince Cecil and Brahmaji
Produced by: Sithara Entertainments and Fortune Four Cinemas
Release Date: 12 February 2022
Streaming on: aha
Cinemania’s rating: ★★★☆☆
DJ Tillu revolves around the titular character (whistle-worthy performance by Siddhu Jonnalagadda) who falls in love with a young woman Radhika (Neha Shetty) and dreams of a future with her, however things get complicated when Tillu is embroiled in a murder that he did not commit resulting a series of outrageous situations involving a blackmailer (Narra Srinivas), cop (Brahmaji) and a money-lender (Prince Cecil).
Siddhu Jonnalagadda single-handedly steers the film from start to finish with hilarious dialogues that provide ample entertainment despite lacking logic in the storyline and offering less scope for any other member of the cast to display their acting skills.
8
Film: Yashoda
Directed by: Hari–Harish
Cast: Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Unni Mukundan, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Sampath Raj and Murali Sharma
Produced by: Sridevi Movies
Release Date: 11 November 2022
Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video
Cinemania’s rating: ★★★☆☆
Samantha Ruth Prabhu, after successfully overcoming personal and health issues, returns with a bang in action-thriller Yashoda that follows the titular character who agrees to become a surrogate mother in exchange for a large sum of money that she needs to fund the surgery of her ailing sister.
Yashoda is taken to an secret and highly-sophisticated medical facility where she meets several pregnant women who have also signed up for the scheme, however she realises that the owners of the facility have other nefarious intentions and she has to save herself and other pregnant women before it’s too late.
The action-thriller, directed by Hari Shankar and Harish Narayan, is entertaining for most of its runtime and offers several plot twists unveiling the real identities of its characters but is let down by an unsatisfying climax, however the post-credits newspaper clippings leaves a strong impact.
7
Film: HIT: The Second Case
Directed by: Sailesh Kolanu
Cast: Adivi Sesh and Meenakshi Chaudhary
Produced by: Wall Poster Cinema
Release Date: 2 December 2022
Streaming on: TBC
Cinemania’s rating: ★★★☆☆
Adivi Sesh plays Krishna Dev aka KD investigating a series of gruesome murders in the second instalment of the HIT film series, directed by Sailesh Kolanu.
The crime-thriller is equipped with a gripping screenplay (Sailesh Kolanu), wonderful cinematography (S. Manikandan) and impressive camerawork capturing the beauty of Vizag’s beachside along with slick editing (Garry BH).
The only issue with the sequel is the casting of its antagonist – a familiar actor who is surprisingly underutilised at the beginning of the film which in itself gives away that they have a huge role to play towards the end and could possibly be the serial killer.
6
Film: Oke Oka Jeevitham
Directed by: Shree Karthick
Cast: Sharwanand, Amala Akkineni, Ritu Varma, Vennela Kishore, Priyadarshi and Nassar
Produced by: Dream Warrior Pictures
Release Date: 9 September 2022
Streaming on: Sony LIV
Cinemania’s rating: ★★★½☆
Time-travel drama Oke Oka Jeevitham, written and directed by Shree Karthick in his feature film debut, revolves around a musician Adi (Sharwanand) who is unable to come to terms with the loss of this mother (Amala Akkineni) twenty years ago. Adi, along with his friends Sreenu (Vennela Kishore) and Chaitu (Priyadarshi), come across a time machine developed by Paul (Nassar) and use that to go back in time hoping they can correct the mistakes they have made in the past and also prevent the death of Adi’s mother.
Oke Oka Jeevitham provides an entertaining first half with an unexpected twist followed by an emotion-laden second half (with well-written emotional scenes between Sharwanand and Amala Akkineni) culminating in a satisfying and thought-provoking ending.
5
Film: Ante Sundariniki
Directed by: Vivek Athreya
Cast: Nani and Nazriya Nazim Fahadh
Produced by: Mythri Movie Makers
Release Date: 10 June 2022
Streaming on: Netflix
Cinemania’s rating: ★★★½☆
Romantic comedy Ante Sundariniki, directed by Vivek Athreya (Brochevarevarura), revolves Hindu man Sundara Prasad (Nani) and Christian woman (Nazriya Nazim Fahadh), who are childhood friends and in love in each other when they turn adults, however they face an uphill task in convincing their respective devout parents to agree to their relationship and therefore they hatch a plan which gets complicated as their lies contradict each other leading to a comedy of errors.
Apart from the terrific performances from Nani and Nazriya, Ante Sundariniki benefits from an entertaining non-linear screenplay and hilarious dialogues (Vivek Athreya), good background score by Vivek Sagar and impressive production values.
4
Film: Major
Directed by: Sashi Kiran Tikka
Cast: Adivi Sesh, Prakash Raj, Sobhita Dhulipala, Saiee Manjrekar, Revathi, Murali Sharma and Anish Kuruvilla
Produced by: G. Mahesh Babu Entertainment, Sony Pictures International Productions and A+S Movies
Release Date: 3 June 2022
Streaming on: Netflix
Cinemania’s rating: ★★★½☆
Major, directed by Sashi Kiran Tikka (Goodachari), offers a befitting tribute to Indian army officer Sandeep Unnikrishnan who was martyred in the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. The action-drama not only focusses on the heroics of the officer but also explores his personal life, which to an extent reduces the jingoistic tone of the film.
Adivi Sesh (Goodachari) breathes life into the character of Sandeep Unnikrishnan and Saiee Manjrekar (Dabangg 3) plays his childhood sweetheart and wife Isha Agarwal in a mature performance. Experienced actors Prakash Raj and Revathi play Sandeep’s parents in a heart-wrenching performance.
Major benefits from a gripping screenplay (Adivi Sesh), especially the second half, fantastic action sequences (Naba and Sunil Rodrigues) and excellent cinematography (Patchipulusu Vamsi). It’s a film that will be etched in memory for a long time.
3
Film: Sita Ramam
Directed by: Hanu Raghavapudi
Cast: Dulquer Salmaan, Mrunal Thakur, Rashmika Mandanna and Sumanth
Produced by: Vyjayanthi Movies and Swapna Cinema
Release Date: 5 August 2022
Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video
Cinemania’s rating: ★★★½☆
Set in 1985, period romance film Sita Ramam follows a London-based Pakistani teenager Afreen (Rashmika Mandanna) who is tasked with travelling to Hyderabad in India and delivering a 1965 dated letter written by Indian army lieutenant Ram (Dulquer Salmaan) to Sita Mahalakshmi (Mrunal Thakur). Through various accounts, Afreen learns about Ram whose righteous deeds had earned him fame all over the country and he starts receiving letters of appreciation from strangers, however he comes across a letter with no sender’s address written by a mysterious woman who addresses him as her husband. An intrigued Ram sets off on a journey to find the woman using the details in her letter.
In Sita Ramam, Hanu Raghavapudi delivers a poignant love story (co-written with Raj Kumar Kandamudi) with excellent performances from its cast, aided by beautiful visuals (Kotagiri Venkateswara Rao) and mellifluous music (Vishal Chandrasekhar).
2
Film: Karthikeya 2
Directed by: Chandoo Mondeti
Cast: Nikhil Siddhartha, Anupama Parameswaran, Anupam Kher, Srinivasa Reddy and Adithya Menon
Produced by: Abhishek Agarwal Arts and People Media Factory
Release Date: 13 August 2022
Streaming on: ZEE5
Cinemania’s rating: ★★★★☆
The Karthikeya (2014) duo of director Chandoo Mondeti and lead Nikhil Siddhartha go up a level and deliver an engrossing fantasy-adventure in the sequel.
Karthikeya (Nikhil Siddhartha), assisted by Anupama Parameswaran (Mugdha) and Srinivasa Reddy (Sadananda), embarks on a thrilling journey that involves solving a series of clues to find a mythical anklet of Hindu god Krishna, however the trio are chased by a ruthless assassin Abheera (Venkatesh Mummudi) and they are also monitored by the notorious Dr Santanu Mukherjee (Adithya Menon) who is also after the anklet that is believed to possess healing powers.
Apart from its entertaining story, engaging screenplay and good performances, Karthikeya 2 also offers great visuals and a pulsating background score (Kaala Bhairava), and ends with a premise for a third instalment in the series.
1
Film: RRR
Directed by: S.S. Rajamouli
Cast: Ram Charan, Jr. NTR, Alia Bhatt, Olivia Morris, Ajay Devgn and Shriya Saran
Produced by: DVV Entertainment
Release Date: 25 March 2022
Streaming on: ZEE5
Cinemania’s rating: ★★★★☆
The S.S.Rajamouli (Eega, Baahubali) action-drama, set in the backdrop of 1920’s India and revolving around two Indian freedom fighters Alluri Sitaramaraju and Komaram Bheem (brilliantly portrayed by Ram Charan and Jr NTR in their finest performances to date) provides a visual spectacle with mind-blowing action sequences from start to end.
RRR is a rare Rajamouli film that comes with a simple storyline (which is completely revealed in the film’s trailer) – a young tribal girl Malli is abducted by the British governor (Ray Stevenson) and his wife (Alison Doody), and her guardian brother Bheem (Jr NTR) sets out to rescue her from Delhi but he first has to deal with a formidable and loyal-to-British Indian police officer Ram (Ram Charan) – both become friends turned enemies turned friends and then join forces to defeat the British battalion and rescue Malli (Twinkle Sharma). However, the simple plot is elevated to a whole new level by an incredible screenplay (Rajamouli and his father V. Vijayendra Prasad), terrific performances of the main and supporting cast, action sequences with stunning VFX and the music (M.M. Keeravani).
The period action-drama emerged as a surprise hit among the non-Indian communities in international territories (thanks to the release of the Hindi dubbed version of the film on Netflix). Following a strong word of mouth in Hollywood, RRR has won several accolades in critics circles’ awards in North America and has now set its eyes on Oscars glory.