What to expect from Telugu cinema in 2024: ‘Kalki 2898 AD’, ‘Pushpa 2’, ‘Devara’, ‘Game Changer’ and more

What to expect from Telugu cinema in 2024: ‘Kalki 2898 AD’, ‘Pushpa 2’, ‘Devara’, ‘Game Changer’ and more. Beginning with ‘Guntur Kaaram’, expect films such as ‘OG’, ‘Family Star’, ‘Saripodhaa Sanivaaram’, ‘Thandel, ‘Tillu Square’ and more.

Telugu cinema isn’t done with its ambitious films vying for the national box office. Not yet. 2024 will see a handful of big budget films headlined by A-list stars. The sequel to director Sukumar and Allu Arjun’s Pushpa and the science fiction film Kalki 2898 AD directed by Nag Ashwin, led by Prabhas, will be among the significant releases this year, along with director Shankar’s Game Changer starring Ram Charan, NTR’s Devara directed by Koratala Shiva and Sujeeth’s OG starring Pawan Kalyan.

Mid-January will witness four star-led films during the Sankranti season, beginning with Mahesh Babu’s Guntur Kaaram directed by Trivikram Srinivas and director Prasanth Varma’s superhero film HanuMan on January 12. The Sankranti festive season is considered one of the best times to release films owing to the holiday period during the harvest season when movie watching is part of the cultural ethos. Also throwing their hats in the Sankranti ring are director Sailesh Kolanu’s Saindhav starring Venkatesh and Karthik Gattamaneni’s Eagle starring Ravi Teja on January 13 and Akkineni Nagarjuna’s rural entertainer Naa Saami Ranga directed by Vijay Binni on January 14.

Tillu Square, the sequel to the comedy DJ Tillu, Vishwak Sen’s Gangs of Godavari and Varun Tej’s Operation Valentine will arrive in February. Vijay Deverakonda and Mrunal Thakur’s Family Star, directed by Parasuram, had originally planned as a Sankranti release and is yet to announce its new release date.

A few high profile films that are either underway or to be formally launched include Prashanth Neel’s film starring NTR, Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Spirit with Prabhas, SS Rajamouli’s film with Mahesh Babu and director Trivikram Srinivas’ film with Allu Arjun. Chiranjeevi’s 156th film directed by Vasshista, said to be a fantasy entertainer, and Nandamuri Balakrishna’s 109th film, which will be directed by Bobby, are also in the fray.

G2, the sequel to the action thriller Goodachari starring Adivi Sesh and Banita Sandhu, directed by Vinay Kumar Sirigineedi. Shaneil Deo, who was the cinematographer for Kshanam and Goodachari, will make his debut with the action drama Dacoit produced by Surpriya Yarlagadda, starring Adivi Sesh and Shruti Haasan.

Besideds these big entertainers, there are bound to be several small surprises from new and emerging directors tapping into local narratives.

Here are some of the big films releasing this year: