In today’s Tollywood landscape, actors like Ram Pothineni, Nithiin, Varun Tej, Sai Dharam Tej, Siddhu Jonnalagadda, Vishwak Sen, Kalyan Ram, or any mid-range hero aiming for a strong comeback must be extremely strategic about genre selection.
The audience’s taste has shifted, and only certain categories are giving consistent results.
Comedy tops the list, especially youth-centric, Gen-Z-friendly entertainers similar to Little Hearts. But succeeding here requires a major makeover, just like Sharwanand did for Biker and Sree Nandu did for Psych Siddhartha. They need to forget their age, compete with younger generation targetting Gen Z.
If not comedy, the next viable options are devotional and horror. Both genres continue to strike a chord with audience. Recent hits prove that viewers welcome mythological tones, spiritual symbolism and supernatural elements when presented with strong conviction.
Teja Sajja stands as a clear example of smart genre positioning. His relevance today comes from Zombie Reddy in the horror-comedy space and HanuMan and Mirai in the devotional-superhero zone. These choices helped him create a unique identity while others struggled with repetitive formulas.
Even for Bellamkonda Srinivas only two films worked; Rakshasudu and Kishkindakanda in horror genre.
At this point, very few genres offer real promise. For mid-range heroes hoping to revive their momentum, sticking to comedy, devotional, or horror seems not just strategic but essential.
