Every year starts with lot of hope and enthusiasm. But somewhere down the line it pathetically peters into problems for some.

There were many such figures in Tollywood who had a miserable 2004. Who were they? Well, among the heroes were Mahesh Babu, Balakrishna, Rajasekhar. Among the directors were Jayanth C Paranji, Krishna Vamsi and Teja. Among the heroines were Laya and Aarti Agarwal.

Among them, the cases of Mahesh, Aarti can be termed as mid-career blues as they can be expected to bounce back. The two are still young and they have some important films set for release this year.

But not for the likes of Rajasekhar and Jayanth C. The former had Apthudu in 2004 and sank without a trace. Jayanth C hasn't had an original hit since knows when. Forget his Shankar Dada MBBS (it is Chiru's film and also remade one). Jayanth's only release was Sakhiya and it was an unmitigated disaster. Krishna Vamsi has been enduring a bad run ever since Khadgam. Now he desperately hopes that Chakram with Prabhas will succeed.

The only problem for those trying to make a comeback is the fact that they will have to compete with plenty of talented newcomers.

One way or the other, 2005 promises to be interesting.