Who has the most commercial pull after male leads in Tollywood nowadays? If we go by recent film-naming trend, it’s the director! Names of directors are being added to the working title of movies. Earlier, it was only the male lead’s initials which had the most value, but now, the directors have a claim to the title too.
Take for example, SS Rajamouli’s globally-acclaimed movie RRR. When the director was promoting the movie on the Kapil Sharma show and was asked about what RRR stands for, he had said that since they could not come up with a title at that time, they named it RRR after Rajamouli, Ram Charan and Ramarao. Since the audience loved it, they decided to go with the name.
Perhaps, encouraged by the success of RRR, marketing and PR managers have decided that a few directors deserve a place in the nomenclature system of movies. The working title of Mahesh Babu’s 29th movie is SSMB29. While it stands for Super Star Mahesh Babu (SSMB), one cannot help but notice that it has the initials of the director too. Recently, Allu Arjun announced his next movie to be directed by Atlee. It has been tentatively named AA22xA6, combining the initials of the lead actor and the director. Similarly, NTR 31 too is being referred to as NTRNeel in social media.
Mohan Vadlapatla, Tollywood director and producer, says: “It’s understandable that a top director like SS Rajamouli, who is highly popular, teamed up with a major star like Mahesh Babu, and led to the film being referred to as SSMB. Similarly, AA*A represents the collaboration between Allu Arjun and director Atlee. Directors like SS Rajamouli currently do hold strong commercial appeal.”
Earlier it was the only hero
Movies are being announced in a new style in Telugu film industry. Even before choosing the name, the projects are announced after the initials of the hero. Before receiving the formal title of Peddi, Ram Charan’s 16th name was being referred to as RC 16. Junior NTR’s upcoming thriller, which is being directed by Prashanth Neel, is called NTR 31. Vijay Deverakonda’s Kingdom, was being called VD 12 before it’s name was unveiled. His next outing, which is a Telugu period action thriller directed by Rahul Sankrityan, is being called VD 14 in all promotional campaigns and updates.
No doubt, irrespective of the commercial success of their previous movies, the names of heroes still carry huge commercial value. It is a way of signalling to their respective fan bases, and also the larger-than-life roles the actors are playing in the movies.
Female names conspicuously absent
However, the names of the female leads remain conspicuously absent in working titles. While RC 16 has Janhvi Kapoor in the lead, SSMB 29 has none other than global star Priyanka Chopra. But even her name did not merit a place in the title.
Is it due to the fact that woman-led movies still struggle to find an audience?
“In the future, it’s possible that titles might include actresses’ names too, if it’s seen as beneficial for drawing audience interest and supporting the film’s marketing strategy,” adds Vadlapatla.
It is noted that the most recent female-centric Telugu movie, Odela 2, bombed at the box office despite having the popular Tamannaah Bhatia in the lead.
It remains to be seen if one day the female leads’ names make it to the titles. For now, it’s the leading man and the director riding high on the wave of commercial signalling.
