If the 15th Lok Sabha polls in Andhra Pradesh will be remembered for any special reason, it would perhaps be the large star cast that it sported. As the demi-gods of the Telugu silver screen descended onto the roads, the crowds braved the summer heat to attend the road shows and went ecstatic on seeing them in flesh and blood. But that was it! The star appeal hardly translated into votes. It was quite a reality check for stars like Balakrishna, Pawan Kalyan and NTR Jr, who took a break from films and took their political campaigning seriously — NTR Jr even campaigned from his hospital bed! Stars like Ram Charan and Allu Arjun, who joined the campaign in the last leg, were also not spared by the discerning public, who milled around them as they travelled by train but showed restraint at the ballot box. Putting their failure behind, the stars are back to work and in good spirits as well, doing what they know best. At a recent film function, we spotted NTR Jr sharing lighter moments with political rival Ram Charan Tej and other stars as well. “I am getting back to work on June 20 and we intend to wrap up the film in three months flat,” said the star, who will resume romancing sexy starlet Nayanathara, of course before the arc lights. Much before him, Ram Charan also joined the unit of his semi-periodic film to dance to the tunes of director Rajamouli. Despite his political rub-off, he affirms his passion for films. Talking about his magnum opus, he says, “The film got delayed a bit, but we hope to live up to the high expectations.” He told Hyderabad Times that he had to ‘abandon’ his holiday plans to begin shooting for his next film with director Bhaskar. Similarly, Pawan Kalyan, who is now resting in Pune with his family, will don the khaki uniform once again for his cop story Puli. “From July 1, we are planning a start-to-finish schedule including a major schedule in Bangkok,” says director S J Suryah, who intends to wrap up his film laced with a hard-hitting message at the earliest. Reportedly, the film is loaded with fiery speeches of Pawan Kalyan against the system and corruption. It remains to be seen whether they will re-design or cut some scenes. Likewise, Allu Arjun also commenced work and performed a ‘breathtaking’ dance number under the guidance of his fave director Gunasekar. “Arjun is doing a well-etched out role and he’ll look different as well,” said the ace director. From the rival camp, Balakrishna has announced a new film after a not-so-impressive Mithrudu to keep his career going. Now, what we need to wait and watch, is if the stars political forays have had a negative effect, denting their fan bases. Amidst all this, one message gets clear, charisma alone is not enough in politics and it seems to be the same in films. “Charisma alone will not suffice any more, the stars need take up solid scripts to regain their positions,” says director Chandra Siddharth, summing up the comeback.
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