Tollywood stars of 2013

Jodi of the year: Mahesh and Venkatesh It takes two to tango, and Mahesh Babu and Venkatesh showed how, with their star-act in the family drama Seethamma Vakitlo Sirimalle Chettu (SVSC). The success of the film brought back the lost genre of multi-starrers that disappeared three decades ago. The success of the film has paved the way for a host of multi-starrers.In an industry where the heroes are worshipped like demi-gods, their star-struck fans now have more to look forward to next year ��� Akkineni family multi-starrer Manam and Manchu family starrer Pandavulu Pandavulu Thummeda. All thanks to Mahesh and Venky for showing that two heroes are better than one.
Hero of the year: Pawan Kalyan No actor has been spoken about as much as Pawan Kalyan through the year. While his movie went on to be one of the highest grossing films ever in the history of Telugu cinema, his ���third marriage��� to Anna Lezhneva has generated as much buzz if not more. His movie, Attarintiki Daredi was leaked online a whole month before its scheduled release date. However, it went on to become the biggest hit of the year against all odds. Then came the marriage certificate days before the year���s end. It���s been one hell of a year for the actor. But as they say, all���s well that ends well.
Heroine of the year: Samantha Samantha is called the ���golden girl��� of Tollywood and she proved why, by continuing her dream run in T-Town. With blockbusters like SVSC and Attarintiki Daredi the actress has lived up to the billing of being the most sought-after actress in business. Her charitable activities off screen have only enhanced her stature. And, last but not the least, the actress showed her fearless side when she spoke her mind about a ���regressive film poster.��� While she might have earned the wrath of Mahesh fans, it earned her a lot of admirers among the public.
Hottie of the year: Shruti Haasan One photo shoot was all it took for Shruti Haasan to go from coy to hot, overnight. Throwing caution to the wind, the actress posed for a photoshoot in racy lingerie, flaunting her hitherto unseen ���curves���. Since then, the Haasan gal���s desirability quotient seems to have skyrocketed. Films like Balupu and Ramayya Vasthavayya brought in the audience to the theatre. Tollywood might have just found a new diva.
Khal���Naayak��� of the year: Ram Charan Ram Charan began the year on a high, tasting box office success with the Sankranthi release, Naayak, and all the hype surrounding his much-awaited Bollywood debut. But from then on, it was a downhill slide for the actor. Charan got embroiled in an unsavoury public brawl with two techies who got beaten up by his bodyguards. The incident earned the Mega Power Star a lot of brickbats from the public at large. Unfortunately for the actor, his much-awaited Bollywood debut with Priyanka Chopra proved to be a dud at the BO.
Hulks of the year: Prabhas and Rana The Baahubali co-stars, Prabhas and Rana, have become a stylists��� nightmare these days. Reason? It���s become difficult to find clothes big enough to fit their strapping frames. Yes, the two actors have gone on a muscle-building overdrive to get in shape for their roles in Rajamouli���s period adventure. The length of their unshaven beards has been getting them as much attention as the breadth of their biceps. There aren���t ���bigger heroes��� than these two in the business today!
Trial and error of the year: NTR No Tollywood star has undergone as many physical transformations as NTR Jr over the past few years. He has gone from fat to thin to fat to thin again with each new film and the last year was no different. In Baadshah the actor went in for a style transformation, sporting straightened hair and a goatee with designer clothes. While the look didn���t exactly earn him many brownie points with the style gurus, the actor hired professional trainers to get that ���six-pack���frame for Ramayya Vasthavayya. However, the actor didn���t take his shirt off as he couldn���t achieve the desired look, but he hasn���t stopped working out yet.
Hide and seek of the year: Anjali Who can forget the drama surrounding Anjali���s mysterious disappearance from a star hotel in the city? After publicly stating that there was a threat to her life from her aunt Bharathi Devi and director Kalanjiyum, the actress remained untraceable only to reappear days later even as a slew of allegations flew thick and fast between Anjali and her aunt, Bharati Devi.
Item of the year: Jwala Gutta Jwala Gutta made as much news on badminton court as she did in Tollywood circles. While her maiden item-number in Nithiin���s Gunde Jari Gallanthayyinde did not exactly earn her a lot of accolades for her dancing skills, her public appearances with ���good friend��� Harshvardhan Rane kept the gossip mills busy. Not the one to take things lying down, her public showdown with Badminton Association of India, over the proposed ���life ban��� kept her in the headlines.
Confession of the year: Hansika Motwani Hansika Motwani took the whole of tinseltown by surprise, and broke a lot of hearts, when she candidly confessed to being in love with Simbu sometime in July 2013. ���Yes, I���m seeing STR (Simbu) and hence I wouldn���t like to talk about my personal life...���she (famously) tweeted. This was followed by a similar tweet by Simbu, and he went one step ahead by saying, ���Marriage will be decided by our family. (I) hope you will respect our privacy���. But four months down the line, the candid couple was singing a different tune. Wonder which of the two developed cold feet first.
Bullies of the year: Fans in Tollywood can turn a tad too unruly, and this was proved by fans of both Pawan Kalyan and Mahesh Babu. Pawan���s fans ganged up online to attack TV achor Anasuya for a tweet where she said she was glad to have refused an offer to be part of Pawan���s Attarintiki Daredi. Mahesh���s fans on the other hand took ���uncouth��� to a whole new level when they ganged up and bullied Samantha for a tweet about a regressive poster. Strangely, neither PK nor Mahesh bothered to intervene.
Export of the year: Tamannaah For the quintessential Telugu movie fan, she is a dream on celluloid. Tamannaah commands a legion of fans south of the Vindhyas, who have given her sobriquets like ���milky beauty���, Tammu, etc. No wonder then, she topped the list of Hyderabad Times Most Desirable, 2012. It was only a matter of time before T-Town���s most-loved leading lady, made her big Bollywood debut. A lot was written and said about Tamannaah���s Himmatwala. While the movie tanked, Tamannaah managed to save the day for herself by bagging roles opposite Akshay Kumar and Saif Ali Khan in two big ticket Hindi releases. This makes Tamannaah one of the best imports from T-Town this year.