It was a fantastic year for Telugu cinema this year. With films like RRR turning heads from all over the head towards Telugu cinema, we also had the not-so-gargantuan projects making all the right noises. Here are some of the year's brightest talents from Telugu cinema who managed to win our hearts this year by their sheer grit, talent, and determination.
Shree Karthik (Director, Oke Oka Jeevitham)
The debutant filmmaker made a mark with Oke Oka Jeevitham, one of this year’s finest films that blended time travel with a heartfelt tale of a mother and a son. The filmmaker used science fiction to mount the emotion and passed with flying colours, making him a storyteller to watch out for.
Sai Kiran (Director, Masooda)
Another debutant who experimented with horror, a genre that has been exploited for years in the form of horror comedies, and dared to give a pure genre outing, without falling for commercial cliches in the form of Masooda. Saying that the film almost single-handedly revived the genre in Telugu wouldn’t be unwarranted lionising.
Vimal Krishna (Director, DJ Tillu)
Vimal, who has acted in a couple of films earlier, broke into the Telugu cinema scene as a filmmaker this year. Vimal directed DJ Tillu, one of the funniest and most successful Telugu films of 2022. The comedy caper which he created along with Siddhu Jonnalagadda instantly positioned him as a filmmaker to keep an eye on.
Thiruveer (Actor, Masooda)
Thiruveer has appeared earlier in supporting roles in films like George Reddy (2019) and Tuck Jagadish (2021) but it’s Masooda that put him on the map and finally gave him the due as an actor. As a timid, boy-next-door (literally) Gopi in Masooda, Thiruveer’s performance is quite contrasting to his work in the aforementioned films and is, without a doubt, a promising talent.
Vasishta (Director, Bimbisara)
No other filmmaker in a long time in Telugu cinema made a splashing debut as Vasishta did with Bimbisara. The ambitious socio-fantasy actioner, starring Kalyan Ram, turned out to be a huge money spinner, proving the filmmaker’s mettle in handling massive projects. He is now reportedly joining forces with Ram Charan for a project and is, indeed, a filmmaker to look forward to.