The recently announced National Awards have once again proved the fact that Telugu movies are receiving appreciation from cinema lovers from all across the globe for making phenomenal movies. While SS Rajamouli’s magnum opus Baahubali has set new benchmarks in filmmaking, there have been many more praiseworthy films that won the hearts of many.
Let us journey through the last decade and take a look at the Telugu movies which have made Tollywood proud at National Awards in the category of ‘Best Feature Film in Telugu’.
1940 LO OKA GRAMAM (2008)
The film is directed by Narasimha Nandi. Bala Aditya and Sri Ramya played the lead roles. The film is about an old Brahmin who marries a much younger woman, much to her distress. She falls in love with Suri, who is from a “lower” caste and gets banished by the village heads.
EEGA (2012)
Eega is an Indian bilingual fantasy film which is written by K.V. Vijayendra Prasad and directed by his son, S.S. Rajamouli. The movie tells us the story of Nani, who reincarnated as a fly to avenge his death and save his love from the film’s antagonist. The film stands as one of the more popular Telugu movies released in the recent past.
NA BANGARU THALLI (2013)
Naa Bangaru Thalli is a film which was simultaneously produced in Telugu and Malayalam. The film is based on a real-life story, written and directed by Rajesh Touchriver, starred by Siddique, Anjali Patil, Rathna Shekhar Reddy, Lakshmi Priya Menon, and Neena Kurup. The film is about Durga who wants to pursue higher studies in Hyderabad. Her life turns miserable when she gets forced into the world of prostitution and when she learns a shocking truth in her life.
CHANDAMAMA KATHALU (2014)
Chandamama Kathalu is a film based on anthology which is directed by Praveen Sattaru and produced by Chanakya Bhooneti. The film has eight sub-stories which revolve around love and as the plot proceeds, the lives of all character take interesting turns. Kishore, Lakshmi Manchu, Naga Shourya, Aamani, and Naresh play the lead roles among others.
KANCHE (2015)
Kanche is a film about war, written and directed by Krish Jagarlamudi. The lead roles are played by Varun Tej, Pragya Jaiswal, and Nikitin Dheer. The film was produced Y. Rajeev Reddy and J. Sai Babu. Kanche is India’s first movie to be filmed with a backdrop of second World War. Telling the importance of human relationships and their different facets is one of director Krish’s biggest strengths. This is what he brought to the table once again with Kanche. It shows the significance of living together in harmony in a society.
PELLI CHOOPULU (2016)
Pellichoopulu is a rom-com written and directed by Tharun Bhascker Dhaassyam. Raj Kandukuri and Yash Rangineni produced the film. It has Vijay Deverakonda and Ritu Varma playing the lead roles.The plot is about Prashanth who doesn’t have a career goal. His father gets fed up with Prashanth’s carefree attitude and decides to get him married to a girl in a hope that he might change his thinking process. However, Prashanth meets an ambitious girl who changes his life for the better.
GHAZI (2017)
Ghazi is an Indian war film which is written and directed by Sankalp Reddy. The film is based on the mysterious sinking of PNS GHAZI during Indo-Pakistan War of 1971. It was shot simultaneously in Telugu and Hindi. Rana Daggubati, Taapsee Pannu, Kay Kay Menon and Atul Kulkarni play the main roles in the film.