It’s a boon and a bane to be a successful director in Tollywood. Its like opening a school. Every big star in Tollywood wants to join this school, be part of the shooting, give the audience test and come out with 90% marks. Each time the same questions are asked in the exam, and each time the answers written are the same. Just that the Lead actors are different. The character artists and comedians are the same. Its a pity that the audiences want such movies only.

Type 1 : The Sreenu Vaitla Template

a. Much of the first half of the movie is dominated by “Boy falling in love” scenes. There cant be a love failure or a sad ending to a love story at all! Right from Venky till Ready.. from Ravi Teja to Mahesh Babu, everyone follows the same rule.

b. One of the protagonists’ parents is alive. But either the protagonist himself does not know this or the parent does not know if he / she is alive. Or maybe the parents think that their son is not alive. Ha!

c. The protagonist HAS to wear the police uniform at least once and only once in the entire movie. Happened in Venky, Dhee, Dookudu, Badshah (only exception being King  and I haven’t watched Namo Venkatesa)

d. At a specific time, there needs to be an item song. (immediately after the interval?). Ok this can be discounted because the entire movie industry is so specific about item songs.

e. At a specific time there needs to be a wedding scene and confusion in that wedding. e.g. boy does not know if he will end up marrying the bride or not. e.g. Ready, Dhee, Badhsah

f. There needs to be one duet in Switzerland, with firangs wearing desi costumes and doing desi moves. e.g. Dookudu & Badshah.

g. Of late, Thaman has also found a template of songs that would fit in these movies.

You would have watched Dookudu and Pokiri. Close your eyes and imagine Jr. NTR in the place of Mahesh Babu and voila, you have the Badshah movie. Do you still need a review for Badshah? I wonder if Sreenu Vaitla can ever make a murder mystery movie or a horror movie ?

–Varun Mannava Gowtham