Celebrating Valentine’s Week, we are listing down the best romantic films from regional cinema every day. Romance is probably the most common genre of filmmaking, but making a good romantic film that stands the test of time is not an easy task. Telugu films are known for their dramatic plotlines and peppy music. The films we’ve picked are some of the most commercially successful ones that have made stars out of actors like Allu Arjun, Naga Chaitanya and Vijay Deverakonda.
Manmadhudu (2002)
Manmadhudu is the perfect romantic entertainer to start off your Telugu film watchlist this week. Nagarjuna Akkineni plays a manager in an ad agency who despises women after feeling cheated in a past relationship. Sonali Bendre plays an employee at his company, who find out about his tragic past and the two eventually fall in love. But there are multiple hurdles before they can unite. Nagarjuna’s brilliant performance makes the film completely enjoyable. The music by Devi Sri Prasad is appealing and the locations beautiful. Manmadhudu is considered one of the most romantic Telugu movies of all time.
Arya (2004)
Allu Arjun turned on his charms as the lover boy early on in his career. Arya is his second film and is regarded as one of the most remarkable romantic entertainers of Telugu cinema. Playing the title role, the stylish star wowed the audiences all over the world with this film directed by Sukumar. An outgoing and free-spirited college boy Arya falls in love for the first time with another student Geetha, who is already dating Ajay. The love triangle intensifies as more drama ensues, until the lead pair realizes they were destined to be together. Another film with music by Devi Sri Prasad, Aarya has been reviewed as a “cocktail of fun and more fun” which has it all – romance, eternal love, mush, flowers, embraces, sunsets and sacrifices.
Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana (2005)
Starring Siddharth and Trisha, the film marks the directorial debut of Prabhu Deva. The story loosely follows the plot of 1989 Hindi film Maine Pyar Kiya, where an affluent boy travels to the village of his girlfriend against their parent’s wishes to prove his love. The film’s title was inspired by the song of the same name from Varsham (2004), sung by KS Chithra. The film is one of the popular romantic titles Siddharth shot to fame with. His portrayal of Santosh and his romance with Trisha helped the film become a blockbuster. Siddharth was awarded Filmfare Award South for his performance. The film was remade in nine other languages – the highest for any Indian film.
Ye Maaya Chesave (2010)
Ye Maaya Chesave is one magical project that stemmed from the concept of a Tamil movie that Gautham Menon was making. The film was shot along with the Tamil version Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa with a different cast and climax. Stars of both the Tamil and Telugu films appear in each other’s movies. In the Telugu version, Naga Chaitanya stood out with his performance as a mechanical engineering graduate Karthik who aspires to become a film director. He became a renowned face just by his second film. This one’s an all-time favourite among Naga Chaitanya and Samantha Akkineni fans. AR Rahman’s music, the lead couple’s chemistry made this a memorable romantic drama in Telugu cinema.
Arjun Reddy (2017)
The film launched Vijay Deverakonda’s career nationally, portraying him as the ultimate tragic romantic hero. Starting with college romance, it shows the progression in the love life of two individuals who cannot unite, initially because of caste differences, and ultimately because of misunderstandings and ego. The film is a modern take on the Devdas theme, of how a man’s life falls to ruin when he is separated from the woman he loves. Despite its problematic issues, Arjun Reddy remains one of the most popular Telugu films of recent times, the success of which was replicate in Hindi as well.
Source: News18