Analyzing Naga Chaitanya’s career: The Good, the Bad & the Sad

It was on this day in 2009 that Naga Chaitanya debuted as a male lead with ‘Josh’.  Since then, he has done 19 movies, with two of them (‘Venky Mama’ and Sekhar Kammula’s untitled movie) on sets.  How has the Akkineni ‘varasudu’ fared over the years?

Having done a few movies with star directors, Chay has had several opportunities to reach the next level.  And he has improved his box-office stamina from time to time.  Sukumar, Maruthi, Gautham Menon, Vikram Kumar, Deva Katta and now Kammula are well-known names who have worked with him.  

On the other hand, his films with newcomers or relatively fresh directors have thrown up mixed results.  

Chay’s worst phase was between 2011 and 2015, when he secured mostly flops.  ‘Manam’ (2014) was a hit but it was not his solo movie.  ‘Thadaka’ did well.  But ‘Dhada’, ‘Bejawada’, ‘Autonagar Surya’, ‘Oka Laila Kosam’ and ‘Dochey’ were pathetic.  

His career started looking up once again with the 2016 rom-com ‘Premam’, which was a remake.  Disturbed by ‘Saahsasam Swaasaga Saagipo’, ‘Yuddham Sharanam’, ‘Savyasachi’ and ‘Sailaja Reddy Alludu’ since then, it has been a bumpy ride.  ‘Raarandoi Veduka Chudham’ and ‘Majili’ have been the only hits.

The next one year is going to be crucial.  Both ‘Venky Mama’ (in which he teams up with his uncle, Venkatesh) and the Kammula-Sai Pallavi movie are expected to become hits.  In that case, he will have secured a hat-trick for the first time in his career. 

Almost all his attempts to become a semblance of an action hero have bombed.  On the other hand, the audience have liked him in lover boy roles.