In this section, we analyze five titles that evoked extreme reactions from different sections of movie-goers. One of them is a Telugu-dubbed Bollywood movie that minted huge money at the Telugu box office. Another one is a triangular love story, while yet another one is a meta movie. A comedy entertainer and a relationship drama are also there on the list.
Animal:
The most divisive film of the year by a distance. The elites opined that 'Animal' is a sickening and obnoxious action drama whose lead man is a pervert. The masses felt otherwise. Sandeep Reddy Vanga feels that not even 20 people have a problem with his films' so-called "misogynistic" outlook.
Whatever it is, some segments in the film did feel problematic. The male lead entering a school with a weapon and terrorizing everyone, including those kids who had nothing to do with teasing his sister, was disgusting. Threatening the villain's pregnant wife when she and the unborn child in her womb had nothing to do with him and his beloved father is another low.
Baby:
A misunderstood film it is. That's at least what director Sai Rajesh wants the audience to believe. On Twitter, 'Baby' was the second most debated film of the year after 'Animal'. As per feminists, Vaishnavi (Vaishnavi Chaitanya) was well within her rights to live life on her terms. What if she wanted to befriend a rich dude in college? What if she wanted to explore her sexuality? They feel that slut-shaming her through Anand Deverakonda's character is regressive thinking. On his part, the director said that he never wanted the audience to hate Vaishnavi and that the reactions that the film elicited from males were unexpected.
Malli Pelli:
An underrated movie, this one was meta. It told the "unknown" stories of VK Naresh and Pavitra Lokesh, the real-life celebrity couple. While Naresh showed his ex-wife as a pathological personality who was into taking loans indiscriminately, Pavitra's failed marriage came with a social commentary on untouchability. The film was not cheap but it was accused of propagating a one-sided view. Since Naresh was the producer, he batted for himself and his new soulmate, Pavitra.
Mem Famous:
This was not a controversial film but it did divide social media. One section described the youthful comedy as slice-of-life, while those who disliked the movie disliked it vehemently. They called it YouTube-level stuff. Whatever it is, the brand of humour in 'Mem Famous' will be explored by other filmmakers in the coming years.
Month Of Madhu:
The makers of the film were flustered when many critics gave it a thumbs-down. They said that the reviewers hadn't taken the pains to analyze their movie and that the media wrote it off with a cavalier attitude. A small section of audience members, especially those who vote for multiplex sensibilities, liked the relationship drama and viewed it as coming of age.
