In no particular order, here’s a look at a few films that had refreshing narratives.

2016 will be remembered for small and medium budget films driven by fresh content in Telugu cinema. Among the bigger ones, many run-of-the-mill films bit the dust while a few that banked on scripts, not just the star, made a mark.

In no particular order, here’s a look at a few films that had refreshing narratives.

Pellichoopulu

Slice-of-life films are great fun when they hit the right note. Debutant Tharun Bhascker’s film was effortlessly cool. Made with a small budget and starring emerging actors like Vijay Deverakonda and Ritu Varma, the comedy narrated the story of an affable, lazy guy and a hard working, independent young woman who wants to start a food truck business. Portions of what unfolded on screen could happen to you or those around you. It’s that real. And the crackling humour in Telangana dialect by Priyadarshi Pulikonda and Abhay Betiganti was the icing on the cake.

Read the review here

Kshanam

A three-year-old girl goes missing. The mother is heartbroken but is told by everyone that she never had a daughter. She turns to a trusted friend and he tries to piece together the puzzle. Debut director Ravikanth Perepu and actor Adivi Sesh came up with a taut screenplay that’s never predictable. This small-budget wonder kept viewers at the edge of their seats. Read more

Dhruva

Driven by content Ram Charan in a still from Dhruva

A remake of the Tamil hit Thani Oruvan, Dhruva was a script-driven, racy thriller directed by Surender Reddy, based on the story and screenplay by Mohan Raja. The sleek thriller boasted of a good technical team. Ram Charan played the agile cop and Arvind Swamy’s portrayal of a wicked scientist, Siddharth Abhimanyu, was an asset. More...

Gentleman

Director Mohanakrishna Indraganti’s most ambitious project, and arguably, among his best, had his protégé Nani in a double role — a charming youngster and another, a businessman, who despite doing all things good comes across as sinister. The romantic thriller was helped by commendable performances by Nani, Nivetha Thomas, Surabhi and Srinivas Avasarala among others, and Mani Sharma’s music. Read more

Oopiri

Vamsi Paidipally’s retelling of The Intouchables retains the mirth of the original while tracing the bond between two unlikely characters. Though he stays close to the original in the initial portions, Vamsi makes the film his own as it progresses, infusing it with regional flavour. While Nagarjuna reinvented himself, Karthi became a household name with Oopiri. Read more

Nannaku Prematho

In a star-driven film, it’s a surprise when the hero discusses maths, physics or butterfly effect. Director Sukumar trusted his audience enough to narrate an old tale of revenge in a smart way. The face-off between NTR and Jagapati Babu were among the film’s best segments.

Premam

Director Chandoo Mondeti gave Alphonse Puthren’s Malayalam hit a distinct Telugu flavour. The aura around the rough college student in the second act was created quite well, cleverly weaving in references to Telugu hits, notably when Naga Chaitanya declares he has the patent right to use the cycle chain. And Venkatesh appears in a fun cameo. Read more

A… Aa

Trivikram Srinivas wasn’t narrating a new story but a simple story of relationships was effectively told, bringing out the best of actors Nithiin and Samantha. Rao Ramesh had the best lines as Ballam Venkanna and was a hoot. Read more

Jyo Achyutananda

Director Srinivas Avasarala’s film isn’t a predictable love triangle as many believed before its release. A fulfilling emotional ride between two brothers, it shows them for what they are — genuinely concerned, warm, bound to each other but not without their flaws. Read the review

Krisha Gaadi Veera Prema Gaadha

Director Hanu Raghavapudi’s quirky story has an unlikely hero (Nani) who has none of the famed fearlessness associated with Rayalaseema region. Through this love story that unfolds in the rugged terrain, Hanu doffs his hat to idiosyncrasies of the terrain, in a humorous vein. Read more

*****

Other films that we thought had something interesting in them:

Janata Garage

Helmed by Koratala Shiva, it had assured and convincing performances by two actors — NTR and Mohanlal, the former in a character that cares for environment and the latter who helps people by charting his own rules.

Manamantha

Chandra Sekhar Yeleti presented different facets of middle class lives, through characters of Mohanlal, Gautami, Viswant and child actor Raina Rao.

Soggade Chinni Nayana

Kalyan Krishna’s film leverages on Nagarjuna’s romantic image. He’s fun to watch as Bangarraju with the inimitable Ramya Krishna, and as a nerdy doctor paired with Lavanya Tripathi.

Ekkadiki Pothavu Chinnavada

Director Vi. Anand approaches the horror comedy space with some innovative elements, helped by Nikhil Siddhartha, Hebah Patel and Nandita Shweta’s performances.

Sarrainodu

A regular mass flick in which Boyapati Sreenu ticks off all the prerequisites of a commercial masala film, helped hugely by Allu Arun’s energetic performance.

Terror

Satish Kasetti’s film wasn’t really a box office winner. Taut screenplay and effective storytelling made this a noteworthy thriller.

Kalyana Vaibhogame

Nandini Reddy’s slice-of-life drama pits youngsters who are yet to warm up to the idea of marriage against parents who want to see them married at the earliest. Nandini urges each generation to do some introspection.

Sahasam Swasaga Sagipo

Gautham Menon’s urban romance swiftly moves to an action thriller. The shift isn’t seamless and you may not agree with the climax; it isn’t what one normally expects in a Menon movie. Yet, Sahasam… had a few terrific moments, including the placement of ‘Vellipomakey’.

Nenu Sailaja

The hero has to iron out frictions in the heroine’s family to win her over. So what’s new? Nothing really, but this simple story was beautifully told.

Notable among the dubbed releases were Killing Veerappan, Bichagadu and 24.