Tollywood welcomed 2025 on a very eventful note, as a lot has happened in the month of January this year. Several interesting developments have happened with the film industry and its celebrities. Here’s a look back at what happened this month, and the celebrities that stayed the most in the news.
1. Nandamuri Balakrishna
Also Read – Netflix Miscalculation: Pushpa 2 Still Found West
From being an inconsistent senior hero, Balayya has more or less become an icon now. He made it four hits on the trot with Daaku Maharaaj and is now the most bankable senior star and has made the Sankranthi season his own. To top it off, he was accorded the prestigious Padma Bhushan award, making it an unforgettable month for him.
2. Ram Charan
Also Read – Four Hottest Ladies Overshadow Yash in Toxic?
Charan had a forgettable January to say the least. His immediate next film after RRR , Game Changer was outrightly rejected at the box office. If that wasn’t enough, there was a lot of negative talk about the fabricated posters of the film. He really needs to punch back with his upcoming film RC16.
3. Venkatesh-Ravipudi
Also Read – Excl: Rana Naidu Dir’s Telugu Debut With Teja Sajja
This is the third time that Venkatesh and Anil Ravipudi have come together and it happened with Sankranthi Ki Vasthunnam. This happened to be their most successful collab as this film turned out to be the biggest regional hit of all time in Tollywood by grossing nearly 300 crores. Venky and Ravipudi had forged a lucrative bonding and they’re pulling audience to theaters in big numbers.
4. Shankar
This nearly washed out yesteryear-celebrated director is being held responsible by mega fans for the Game Changer debacle. His scrappy work for the film backfired and confirmed that he is outrightly out of form. Wasting Charan’s 3 years time after RRR will serve him no good either.
5. Chiranjeevi
The discussion about BJP nominating Chiru to Rajya Sabha grew prominence again this month and it kept him in the news. After the super success of Pawan in AP politics, Chiru entering national politics again as RS MP would be a moment to cherish for Mega fans.
6. Dil Raju
This Sankranthi could’ve gone horribly wrong for Raju if he had only released Game Changer. But he released SV simultaneously and it saved the day for him as it largely received the financial burden. But at the same time, he had to also contend with the IT department searches. This January has been an eventful and anxious one for the senior producer at multiple levels.
7. Rajamouli
With the formal launch of the film with Mahesh Babu, the legendary Rajamouli got back in the news again. The funny meme about grabbing Mahesh Babu’s passport set social media on fire. Rajamouli is a marketing genius, and the same is getting exhibited again. He will start to feature more and more on this list as his next film starts production.
8. Thaman
Thaman was blamed by a section of mega fans for the supposed poor album for Game Changer. Shortly after, he created another disturbance by delaying the recording of Daaku which led to certain premiere shows getting cancelled. But his musical work for Daaku won him accolades.
9. Yash
Yash got his priorities, horribly wrong after KGF as his upcoming film Toxic got absolutely bashed after the teaser came out. It was in same tone as KGF and less effective. This is not the kind of reception. He would have expected for his next film after KGF 2. He needs to somehow make it work with Toxic, and it is not going to be an easy task.
10. Priyanka Chopra
Priyanka had mostly been chilling in the United States working on English projects . But all of a sudden, she found herself in the middle of several Telugu discussions as she is rumoured to play one of the main characters in Mahesh Babu and Rajamouli’s film. Her spiritual trips around Hyderabad city added to this publicity. At the end of the day, she certainly caught the attention of Telugu folk on social media.