Just make a list of those films that have been hits in the last year or so.

Starting with Varsham, you travel through Arya, Shankardada MBBS, Mass, NVNV, Sankranthi to end up with Radha Gopalam.

Did you find anything striking in the list? Where are those action thrillers?

Well, they are busy writing the obit for the action flicks in Tollywood.

"True there are very few action movies being made," says Srinivas Prasad, a veteran industry hand.

Who wants to see mindless gore when every second English movie does that with more polish and finesse? "Yes, English movies, with most of them being dubbed in local languages anyway, is eating into our kind of action films," says a leading stunt choreographer.

He points out that stunts in Telugu films are not dying, but stunt film as we know them are dying.

The point is films which have everything --- comedy, romance, action --- will click. There are lot of takers for family fun. Sankranthi and NVNV are good examples of that.

"But these things are cyclical," says a critic. "If a film in particular genre clicks there are bound to be many followers. So it spawns a style and the theme sets in till another genre clicks".

Just right.