Initial reports about Sunil’s latest film “Krishnasthami” do not augur well for his slow-peddling career as a hero. Coming as it is after a long gap, this film created buzz for as long as it was in the making but failed to sustain the audience’s expectations in the new year. The question this website asked in the review of the film is: Why is Dil Raju promoting such hackneyed content at a time when Tollywood is moving on to better and different films? But the real question, the audience asked long back is: Has Sunil outlived his potential as a Comedian? If not, why does he waste his time and energy in pursuit of stardom coming from banal six-pack hero stories? Has he overdone his luck as a hero and is he denying comedy-lovers a chance to regale with his antics?
Let’s face it. Tollywood has always been kind to comedians with unique sense of timing and talent right from the days of Ramana Reddy, Relangi and Padmanabham. Actor Sunil sprung up at the same time as writer Trivikram Srinivas with “Swayamvaram” movie and starting getting roles which kept getting meatier because of an irresistable screen presence and a dominating style of comedy which pulled the right punches. In no time, he climbed the charts as one of the best comedians that TFI has ever produced and bagged two Filmfare awards (“Peda Babu” and “Tadakha”) and three Nandi awards (“Andhrudu”, “Nuvvu Nenu” and “Maryada Ramanna”). In a short span of time, he became a regular fixture in films with superstars and Megastar’s, he became the star comedian who got alround applause. His histrionics had a rare blend of command over Telugu language, loud but distinct diction, impeccable comic timing and penchant for mouthing memorable punchlines. In few films, he stood out with performance in evoking pathos too.
Over time, he dreamt big and got the film that re-defined his career. “Maryada Ramanna” directed by SS Rajamouli. The film became a sleeper hit but everybody said the star comedian forgot to make the audience laugh. He was noted for his serious role. Unperturbed, Sunil returned with film after film since 2010 when “Maryada Ramanna” was released. “Andala Ramudu” the first film after MR became a super-duper hit in which Sunil showed his versatility and comic range with elan. Then came more six pack movies including a multi-starrer with Naga Chaitanya – “Tadakha”. But the story content and the freshness quotient saw a steep decline even as Sunil fell for the trappings of a conventional star who can dance, fight, emote and serenade cute heroines while pumping iron and showing off their body. But in the race to get on to stardom, Sunil became more and more alienated from the masses and classes who flocked to his earlier films when they were hitherto drooling over his lines, his comedy and his emotional connect. In an industry which already has over two dozen heroes, the audiences fed on an overdose of star plots and formula films didn’t recognise the extra effort put in by Sunil in his films – the looks, the steps, the dressing and the incredible body frame. Instead, they felt he was soul-less, stripped of individuality, unconvincing and predictable. Like any other hero.
This happens when a comedian loses his mojo in acting to become more acceptable as another “hero” in which Suni doesn’t have a unique ability or mannerism – which was not the case as long as he was a comedian. Being a comedian didn’t have the burden of being an entertainer par excellence but it brought out the idiosyncrasies of the actor bursting at the seams – he had to learn his lines and deliver them with aplomb which he was very good at. Being a hero is much tougher for Sunil because a lot many things had to fall in place before audience can accept. Besides, audiences have a better choice now – and if they want to run from a film without the star comedian’s tantrums which they are used to – they can walk out if they don’t like the “hero” in the star comedian.
Sunil could do well to appreciate that the transition from comedian to hero is not as easy in Tollywood as it was, say from a villain to hero. Because of similarity in emotions and the depth of characterisation, audiences in TFI have been receptive to a villain like Ravi Teja or Gopichand or Srihari or Mohan Babu becoming a hero. But they have been extremely cautious to the extent of being unkind to overtures of a comedian turning to a hero. And some of the most successful comedians in the history of Tollywood have learnt it the hard way – some at the expense of others and some at the expense of their own money.
Take for instance, Relangi. He used to command remuneration as much as the main hero and heroine once upon a time. In 1953, he even acted in a hit film “Pakkinti Ammayi” as a comic hero opposite Anjali Devi (which was remade decades later with Chandra Mohan and Jayasudha). He acted opposite Savitri in Mayabazar in a famous role that drew wolf-whistles. But he never got carried away except in a few films backed with his own money; he realised quickly to resume his comic and serious roles in twilight years. Raja Babu acted as the hero in “Tata Manavudu” but didn’t make it a full-fledged track to act in films as a comic hero. Ditto with comedians like Nagesh and Padmanabham who dabbled in a film or two as heroes but didn’t over-extend their luck till the audiences rejected them. The most successful comedian of our times Dr.Brahmanandam tested his luck with a film “Babayi Hotel” when his popularity reached the first peak in the late eighties but was quick to stay grounded as a comedian. Comedian Ali is the only hero who tried to repeatedly test his luck as a hero with films like “Yamaleela” and later “Somberi” but never left his core competence. It shows that there is a regular pattern in comedian’s career graphs: it pays to grasp the feedback from the Telugu audiences – they love the comedians to make them laugh and give relief but not as the heroes.
Given the huge hiatus in Tollywood today of genuine comedians who can scorch the screens, an opportunity awaits Star Comedian Sunil to return to his comfort zone of giving us memorable comedy once again. With several leading lights dead and gone, there are hardly two three comedians who can be one of the reasons to watch a film. Sunil with his rich baritone, impressive body language and commanding screen presence always fits the bill as a comedian. We have enough heroes to give us action and romantic flicks but not many star comedians. Time for Sunil to come back to his area of strength else it will be too late for him to rekindle the spark of comedy. Heroism is not his surf but comedy is always his forte. He should return to it forthwith.
