Tollywood updates: Status quo of upcoming star hero movies

Star hero movies are ones that the Tollywood audiences wait for, disregarding their favourite actor or director. Pumped with high-action drama, intense fights, massy punchlines, and of course, groovy dances, movies of top-rated actors are a celebration for cinephiles. The last 12 months were filled with star-studded movies such as Akhanda, Pushpa, RRR, Sarkaru Vaari Paata, and Bheemla Nayak. Similar to this year, 2023 promises to be equally entertaining, with these stars hitting the big screens with their upcoming flicks.

Here is the status quo of upcoming Tollywood star hero movies.

Also read: 6 upcoming Telugu movies of second-tier stars that look promising

SSMB28

The Superstar-Trivikram combo is one of the most-awaited Tollywood releases in the near future. After 12 years, this duo is back on the cards, and fans couldn’t hold their excitement when the producers Haarika and Haasine Creations announced it. Recently, the team wrapped up its first schedule at Ramoji Film City. Mahesh Babu shot a few high-octane action sequences composed by the fight master duo AnbAriv. Though the makers announced that the second schedule would commence post-Dussehra, they gave no further update. On 31 October, producer Naga Vamsi tweeted, saying the second schedule will soon kick off. With Mahesh’s father and Tollywood legend, Superstar Krishna, passing away, the shoot is expected to delay further. SSMB28 was initially planned to release in 2022 summer but got delayed due to several reasons. The makers are planning to release the movie in 2023 summer, which looks dicey given the current state of affairs.

NTR30

A project several steps away from going on to the sets, NTR30 is an upcoming star-studded film directed by Koratala Siva. The Word is that Jr NTR had asked the director to rework the film’s script after Siva’s forgettable outing with Acharya. Though there were rumours that the movie got shelved, one of the team members recently shared a picture on Twitter, rubbishing the fake reports at once. Nevertheless, a delay in this project is inevitable, say film circles.

RC15

One of the few upcoming movies of a Tollywood star hero showing significant progress, RC15 is Ram Charan’s next pan-India project with ace director Shankar. The shooting for this film, which kicked off in October 2021, took place in full swing at various locations. Pune, Satara, Phaltan, Rajahmundry, Kovvur, Kakinada, Visakhapatnam, and sets erected at Ramoji Film City were the shoot locations for RC15 so far. Unfortunately, the process slowed down when director Shankar had to fulfil his commitment towards Indian 2. As per the reports, the team completed over 60% of the filming and is planning to get into the post-production phase by January 2023.

Hari Hara Veera Mallu

Hari Hara Veera Mallu is one of the most delayed Tollywood projects. Launched in January 2020, the Pawan Kalyan starrer faced several postponements due to the pandemic, commitment issues, and creative differences. The most recent schedule happened in April 2022 and marked a 60% completion of the filming. Under ideal conditions, HHVM was supposed to release in January 2022 but got delayed by over a year. Currently, producer AM Ratnam and director Krish Jagarlamudi are aiming to release the movie on 30 March 2023. Nevertheless, given PK’s political schedule, the chances for the final shoot schedule look bleak in the near future.

Salaar

A fast-proceeding movie, Salaar is one of the highly-anticipated projects not just down south but all across the country. This movie’s shoot began in January 2021 and picked pace quickly. After halting in March 2022 for Prabhas’s Radhe Shyam and director Prashanth Neel’s KGF Chapter 2, the filming resumed in June. A high-budgeted midsea action sequence was shot that is said to span 20 minutes in the movie. Recently, in August, the producers Hombale Films announced the release date as 28 September 2022.

Pushpa: The Rule

It has been a year since Pushpa The Rise took over the box office. At the moment, director Sukumar is reportedly shooting minor sequences. Allu Arjun, who is occupied with several ad shoots, is said to join the sets soon. Recently, there have been several rumours about Bollywood actors joining the film. It was also reported that star actor Vijay Sethupathi was roped in for a crucial role. Nevertheless, the makers never confirmed signing any actor mentioned in those rumours. Bollywood actor Arjun Kapoor’s name was the latest clickbait in several headlines spreading fake reports. The movie is expected to release in December 2023.

Let us know which one of these upcoming Tollywood star hero movies you are most excited for. Stay tuned to Yo! Vizag website and Instagram for more Tollywood updates.