It all began with Sukumar’s Rangasthalam, an experimental drama set entirely in a fictional village in Coastal Andhra. Touted as one of the first mainstream Telugu films to embrace a truly raw and rustic setting, the Ram Charan-starrer became a record-breaking commercial success and a trendsetter. Its success proved that rooted village dramas could work on a massive scale, inspiring a new wave of filmmakers to explore similar worlds.
Sukumar himself returned to the genre with the Pushpa series, starring Allu Arjun, and the two-part franchise went on to achieve phenomenal commercial success. What followed was a wave of filmmakers exploring similar themes and aesthetics, including Buchi Babu Sana and Srikanth Odela, both of whom previously worked as associates of Sukumar. The raw, earthy treatment that once felt fresh gradually became a familiar template in mainstream Telugu cinema.
Enough is Enough
This trend eventually led to films such as Ram Charan’s sports drama Peddi and Nani’s action epic The Paradise, both of which explored heavily rooted, rustic worlds. While the films managed to perform reasonably well at the ticket window, the growing feeling of monotony among Telugu audiences cannot be ignored. What began as a refreshing backdrop has now become an increasingly overused setting, with several films relying on similar aesthetics, characters and conflicts.
Is Sharwa too late to the party?
The recently released teaser of Sharwanand’s Bhogi has faced criticism for precisely this reason, with sections of the audience expressing fatigue over yet another rustic story. As a web portal with a deep love for the craft of cinema, we genuinely hope filmmakers now look beyond this template and experiment with newer worlds, themes and storytelling styles. Sukumar may have pioneered this wave, but Telugu cinema certainly has enough creative potential to move beyond it.
