Movie buffs have made an interesting observation lately. Telugu directors have delivered only hits for Tamil heroes in recent years: SIR, Varisu, and now Kuberaa. Suriya's 46th movie, directed by Venky Atluri, is also expected to become a hit. Sivakarthikeyan's Prince is a rare exception.
On the other hand, Tamil directors have delivered only disasters with Telugu heroes: Mahesh Babu's Spyder, Ram Pothineni's Warriorr, Naga Chaitanya's Custody, Ram Charan's Game changer, and Vijay Deverakonda's NOTA are recent examples. In the 2000s, movies like Chiranjeevi's Stalin, Prabhas' Rebel, Pawan Kalyan's Komaram Puli and Mahesh's Nani were flops. Panja, released in 2011, was directed by a Kollywood filmmaker.
Tamil directors have floundered while working with Telugu heroes mainly because they have chosen safe commercial formulae. Spyder was expected to push the envelope but it was a routine hero vs. villain story. SJ Suryah's psychopathic character was the only decent element in it. Game Changer was a dual role, vigilante story with formulaic elements through and through.
All eyes are now on Atlee, the director Bigil, Mersal and Jawan. If his Allu Arjun movie becomes a hit, the jinx would be broken.
