2019 opened the door for the young brigade to unleash their talent and prove that content is always the king. Here's a recap of the year that was.

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CE Year in Review: Telugu cinema 2019 rewind - The trends of Tollywood

2019 will certainly go down in the history of Telugu cinema as the year that saw filmmakers, new-gen actors, stars, and the audience lending their support to alternate cinema.

Team CE

Published:31st Dec, 2019 at 4:55 PM

Telugu cinema has always welcomed heroines from Mumbai with open arms. And this year too, we had a bunch of actors from other industries who made their debuts in Telugu.

Shraddha Srinath gave a memorable performance in Jersey. We also found a potential performer in Aishwarya Rajesh who has stepped into Telugu cinema with Kausalya Krishnamurthy and MisMatch.

Bollywood star Shraddha Kapoor, who took the nation by storm with Aashiqui 2, made her Telugu debut opposite Prabhas in Saaho.

Other notable debutantes included Divyansha Kaushik (Jersey), Priyanka Arul Mohan (Nani’s Gang Leader), Zareen Khan (Chanakya) and Shruti Sharma (Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya).

While several big films like Maharshi and Syeraa Narasimha Reddy had their share of success, this year also saw a slew of relatively smaller films with refreshing storylines deliver high returns.

Agent Sai Srinivasa Athreya, which marked the debut of Naveen Polishetty, was one such. It was a throwback to the times when suspense thrillers were more about script and screenplay.

Vivek Athreya's Brochevarevaru was another smaller film that made it big. The well-written film impressed audiences with its natural tone & beautiful tapestry of coincidences woven together seamlessly

Mathu Vadalara was released without much fanfare, but the film picked up steam through word-of-mouth. It went on to prove that there is room for good films with fascinating content.

Remakes rule the roost this year in Tollywood.

Samantha hit peak form with her career-defining performance in Oh Baby, a remake of the South Korean film Miss Granny. The film became a runaway hit.

After Kshanam and Goodachari, Adivi Sesh continued his success streak with Evaru. An adaptation of the Spanish film The Invisible Guest, it won laurels from the audience and critics alike.

Rakshasudu (remake of the Tamil film Ratsasan) that charts the story of a cop, who attempts to track down a psycho killer, not only garnered BO attention but also revived the fortunes of Bellamkonda.

Nikhil's two-year wait for success came to an end with Arjun Suravaram. A remake of Tamil film Kanithan, it became one of the biggest hits in the actor's career.

This year also saw several members of the industry try their hand at something new.

After launching his own clothing line, Vijay Devarekonda tried his hand at film production with Meeku Mathrame Cheptha. Made on a shoe-string budget, the film did better than expected.

RX 100 fame Kartikeya played a villain for the first time in Nani's Gang Leader. Varun Tej, who usually plays the boy-next-door, did the same to great effect as a manic gangster in Gaddalakonda Ganesh

Actors Vishwak Sen and Srinivasa Reddy made their directorial debuts with Falaknuma Das and Bhagyanagaraveedhullo Gammathu, respectively.

On the other hand, the upcoming year will be special for director VV Vinayak, who is gearing up to make his acting debut in a lead role with Seenayya.

Several star-driven vehicles, despite huge pre-release buzz, failed miserably at the ticket window.

From Balakrishna's NTR: Mahanayakudu to Ram Charan's Vinaya Vidheya Rama, Nagarjuna's Manmadhudu 2 to Prabhas' Saaho, several big-budget films did not manage to live up to expectations.

Several actors, such as Jr NTR, Allu Arjun, Nithiin had no releases this year. Surprisingly, actor Ravi Teja, who is known for having at least two releases each year, has also been missing in action.

Director Vijaya Bapineedu's demise left millions of Chiranjeevi fans shaken. The 82-year-old filmmaker, who played a great part in aiding Chiranjeevi to reach stardom, died on February 11.

Ten days after his death, the industry witnessed the death of another stalwart, Kodi Ramakrishna, who breathed his last due to lung infection.

A pall of gloom descended on actor Krishna's family as Telugu cinema's celebrated female director Vijaya Nirmala passed away on June 27 due to cardiac arrest.