This year, 2022, the Telugu film industry, also known as Tollywood, has released some good movies, some of which have been excellent, and some of which have been low-quality, a mixed bag. But we are here to talk about the films that shone across the country, and particularly one Cinema – RRR that transcended the boundaries of the nation and continues to make noise across the globe. Here are the 10 best Telugu movies released in 2022.
Best Telugu Movies 2022:
10. Panchatantram
“A sweet, light-hearted-feel good anthology from a debutant. If not all, at least a few stories would definitely resonate with us and keep us in that comfort zone. The entire cast held this film so well with their act. I’m really happy to see Brahmanandam on screen in such a role, lovely. Music and cinematography complement the flow. The 2nd half-stories change the momentum and hits the right spot. Overall, A decent one from the team.” – Shashank, Letterboxd.
9. Ashoka Vanamlo Arjuna Kalyanam
“A Slice of Life Dramedy that takes its sweet time to set things up but once done, it engages and entertains. Also so refreshing to see all the cast members perform so well, keeping the proceedings candid. There is nothing new in the film but still, you sit throughout to see what’s happening, as it’s well narrated and the dialogues are pretty intriguing; the comedy, romance, and the drama around just go with the flow seamlessly.” – Nikhilator, Letterboxd.
8. Dj Tillu
“A crime comedy that’s got an implausible story and narrative, yet provides crazy time pass fun with some solid laugh-out-loud moments. Siddhu Jonnalagadda is outright kickass here and Neha Shetty plays her equivocal character in a convincing manner. The well-written dialogues and Thaman’s thumping music add to the fun. It does lose steam in the third act with dull and abruptly rushed twist of events, but still provides good entertainment and ends up a good watch.” – Michael James, Letterboxd.
7. Karthikeya 2
“A compelling mystery that feels a lot like Tollywood’s attempt at Uncharted, especially in the 2nd half. Nikhil is good and technically it’s wonderful. Kaala Bhairava’s score is probably its biggest strength. Even if logic is sacrificed for the thrills sometimes, overall it’s a decent experience.” – Raghava, Letterboxd.
6. HIT: The 2nd Case
“Hit 2 is a solid investigative whodunit thriller and a great addition to the franchise that does complete justice to its genre. It’s gripping, chilling and authentic. The film holds up quite well to the prior film and even gets better of it with authentic investigative sequences that don’t get over the top like many other films in the same genre from the industry.” – Surya | Screen Savor, Letterboxd.
5. Sita Ramam
Sita Ramam is the testament that “films don’t necessarily require hundreds of crores to be good.” ahem radhe-shyam ahem. – Jayanth, Letterboxd.
“An epic period tale of love and war that’s executed in an emotionally effective and poetic manner. The drama initially takes its time to settle in, moves along at its own pace, and has a few logic shortcomings, but gets more curiously interesting pre-interval onwards with surprising well-placed twists and grippingly moving final hour filled with heart n humanity.” – Michael James, Letterboxd.
4. Major
“Patriotic films like this and shershah work very well because of the perfect balance of emotions and action. And patriotism isn’t forced throughout the film, all they wanted to do this is a proper tribute and yeah they managed to pull it.” – Jack, Letterboxd.
“The direction, cinematography, acting, and pacing are superb — however they are all let down by a pretty flimsy script filled with generic moments and dialogues.” – filmranked, Letterboxd.
3. Oke Oka Jeevitham
“A well-executed feel-good movie, it used the time travel as a minor plot device to built it’s story upon rather than unnecessarily stressing upon it like a lot of movies. The final third was told half glass full kind of way, the same story could’ve been told with a rather bleak and nihilistic outlook but I liked the way the movie ended in a positive manner.” – Akshay Kannan, Letterboxd.
2. Ante Sundaraniki
“Vivek Athreya takes the learnings of his previous two films and delivers some of the most textured work in this now populated, quirk-a-minute Indian genre– which hasn’t been putting character above theme nearly enough anymore. Not only is this visually flawless in the simplest of ways, but also every screenwriting aspect and artist involved is in blind service of the characters being imagined. The feeling of seeing Pellichoopulu for the first time in 2016 was always going to be hard to find again in Tollywood’s streaming era. Happy to say this might’ve outdone it.” – Shritan, Letterboxd.
1. RRR: Rise-Roar-Revolt
“RRR was a blast and also a quintessential “dudes rock” movie. It fires on all cylinders to deliver an adrenaline-fueled, emotional & action-packed adventure offset by some of the most bonkers, jaw-dropping setpieces which spectacularly blend history and mythology. This movie is further proof of why SS Rajamouli is one of world cinema’s most audacious & ambitious image-makers. The movie rests strongly on the shoulders of Jr NTR & Ram Charan, and SSR has balanced both characters smartly.”– Nakul, Letterboxd.
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