Why are most of the so-called comedy movies coming out in Telugu failing to draw laughs in theatres? Many of them fail to register even decent openings. Hardly two films with a focus on comedy work in a year. In recent years, Jathi Ratnalu, Sankranthiki Vasthunam, DJ Tillu, Tillu Square, MAD, MAD Square, Mathu Vadalara 2, and Samajavaragamana are the only ones that have become commercial entertainers by primarily dishing out laughs. Om Bheem Bush, Janaka Aithe Ganaka, F3, Nithiin's Robinhood (a costly, costly flop), Vishwak Sen's Laila, Brahma Anandam, Pelli Kaani Prasad, and many others that promised to have the audience convulsed with laughter were disappointments.
Most of the flops belonging to the comedy entertainment genre suffer from the twin issue of poor writing and poor performances. There was a time when even cringe-y comedy used to be passable in Telugu cinema mainly because of the onscreen talents like Brahmi, AVS, Dharmavarapu, Venu Madhav and Shakuntala.
These days, Telugu comedians sleepwalk through their roles. With the sole exception of Satya, others look as though they are out of energy. Saptagiri looks tired; so, his ability to look comical is out of question. Vennela Kishore is more a victim of poor writing; he has some spark left in him, though. Shakalaka Shankar, Hyper Aadhi, and Sudigali Sudheer don't do as many comedy movies as they were expected to. Where are Dhanraj and Tagubothu Ramesh? Why is Muralidhar Goud always ready to be typecast? Getup Srinu and Viva Harsha are far less disappointing, to be fair. Like Vennela Kishore, they are victims of poor writing.
On Instagram, you will find at least a handful of comedy talents who are far more comical than almost all Tollywood comedians of the present day. They are small-time social media users with no luck.
The situation out there is really bad. Tollywood directors and Tollywood comedians deserve each other; they both lack talent. Someone should hunt for comedy talents on Instagram and put an end to the mediocrity haranguing the audience.
